Telecom Commission Letter addressed to the Distribution List
Ottawa, 21 October 2020
Our reference: 8665-C12-202000280
BY EMAIL
Distribution List
RE: Unauthorized Mobile Telephone Number Transfers and SIM Swapping in Canada
This letter concerns the matters of unauthorized mobile telephone number transfers and SIM swapping in Canada, and mobile carriers’ actions to curb these fraudulent activities.
In a Commission staff letter dated 17 July 2020, the mobile carriers were requested to track and maintain data so that the Commission can continue its collection of monthly data on the number of unauthorized mobile telephone number transfers and SIM swaps, with a view to assessing the impact of actions taken.
Commission staff hereby requests each mobile carrier to file with the Commission information in response to questions 1 to 2 below by 9 December 2020.
- Provide, separately for each wireless brand operated by your company or affiliates, the data for each month from June 2020 to November 2020 inclusive, as was requested in the Commission staff letter dated 28 May 2020, question 1a. - 1d. Please be advised that the Commission may collect further data in that respect in the future.
- Provide details of the customer awareness activities and customer service representative training undertaken by your company or affiliates with respect to the new measures implemented to respond to fraudulent activities relating to number transfers, and with respect to the actions that a customer must take to successfully complete a number transfer.
Prior to submitting the above information, each mobile carrier is also requested to confirm by 27 October 2020 whether it and, where relevant, its affiliated mobile service providers will be:
- implementing the measures set out in paragraphs 4 to 12 of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) letter dated 17 September 2020, while providing details as to which specific additional measures, if any, will be implemented; and
- implementing these measures on the date set out in paragraph 13 of the same letter and, if not, they are requested to notify the Commission of the date being targeted for implementation of these measures along with the reasons for the required delay.
Finally, each mobile carrier, and where relevant, its affiliated mobile service providers, are requested to:
- notify the Commission that the measures in question have been implemented, within five days after their implementation.
To the extent that information is submitted in confidence pursuant to section 39 of the Telecommunications Act, an abridged version of all submissions must be provided for the public record. A copy of this letter and all related correspondence will be added to the public record of the proceeding.
Sincerely,
Original signed by
Michel Murray
Director, Dispute Resolution & Regulatory Implementation
Telecommunications Sector
c.c.: Eric Smith, CWTA, esmith@cwta.ca
Ursula Grant, CWTA, ugrant@cwta.ca
John Lawford, PIAC, jlawford@piac.ca
Distribution List:
Bell Mobility Inc., bell.regulatory@bell.ca
Bragg Communications Incorporated (carrying on business as Eastlink), Regulatory.Matters@corp.eastlink.ca
Rogers Communications Canada Inc., rwi_gr@rci.rogers.com
Saskatchewan Telecommunications, document.control@sasktel.com
Shaw Telecom Inc., Regulatory@sjrb.ca
TbayTel, rob.olenick@tbaytel.com
TELUS Communications Inc., regulatory.affairs@telus.com
Videotron Ltd., regaffairs@quebecor.com
Xplore Mobile Inc., carl.macquarrie@corp.xplornet.com
- Date modified: