The Ministry of Communications (MC) supports the initiative of the Ministry of the Interior (MoI) to combat phone fraud, which includes the obligation for electronic communications merchants to register users of prepaid SIM cards, the ministry informed the LETA agency.
At the same time, the Ministry of Communications (MC) together with industry associations has defined specific recommendations that are being discussed with other stakeholders to prepare proposals for amendments to regulations.
According to the MC, the new regulation should not create an excessive burden for users of prepaid SIM cards and service providers, nor should it reduce the availability of prepaid cards.
In addition, at the initiative of the ministry, meetings are being held with all interested parties to develop specific solutions in the area of combating phone fraud within the competence of the MC. The parties have agreed on specific amendments to the Electronic Communications Law regarding the processing of location data, which will be considered by the Saeima in the third reading of the draft law.
The amendments stipulate that when receiving a call via interconnection from a foreign operator, the electronic communications merchant will be obliged to process location data if such processing is necessary to prevent fraud or other illegal activities in the electronic communications network, including processing, obtaining, and transmitting information about the location of the end device while roaming to other electronic communications merchants.
This will ensure legal regulation that will reduce the possibility of illegal use of Latvian numbering for making fraudulent calls from abroad, the ministry noted.
Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis stated in an interview with Latvian Radio in mid-February that the Ministry of the Interior (MoI) has proposed banning the use of unregistered SIM cards that are not tied to a specific person. This is necessary to limit phone fraud.
In many European Union countries, unregistered SIM cards are prohibited, so such fraud is concentrated in those countries where such regulation is still lacking, including Latvia, Kozlovskis explained.
It was also reported that opposition deputies have requested the Interior Minister Kozlovskis to clarify the minister's actions and his responsibility in combating phone fraud.
The deputies are also interested in whether a complete ban on "SIM box" services is being considered, which they believe have proven to be a significant step in curbing anonymous fraudulent calls in other countries.
According to the Financial Industry Association, in 2025, clients of the four largest banks in Latvia lost a total of 12.22 million euros due to self-confirmed payments, which is 21.3% less than the previous year.
