NCC to flag risky phone numbers in real-time to fight fraud

Nigeria’s telecom regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), is proposing a new system called the Telecoms Identity Risk Management System (TIRMS) to combat rising fraud. TIRMS will be a central platform that tracks and flags high-risk mobile numbers in real time for banks, government services, and other digital platforms.

The mobile number (MSISDN) is now a critical identity for banking, e-commerce, and authentication. Fraudsters exploit loopholes when numbers are churned, recycled, swapped, or barred, allowing them to hijack accounts during recovery processes. NCC’s Aminu Maida says this is eroding trust in digital systems.

Under new rules, telecom operators must notify subscribers 14 days before their numbers are reassigned and submit churned number details to TIRMS within 7 days. The system aims to let service providers instantly check a number’s risk status before granting access to sensitive services.

However, industry players like MTN warn that without compulsory participation from banks and other sectors, TIRMS could fail like a previous NCC-CBN initiative with low adoption. Practical hurdles exist: many subscribers lack alternate contact details for 14-day warnings, and there’s no unified real-time database of NIN-linked numbers across networks.

The NCC stresses collaboration is key, positioning TIRMS as a cross-sector tool requiring coordination between telcos, financial institutions, and regulators.

With your phone number now a key to your financial and digital life, how will you verify a number’s legitimacy before using it for sensitive account recovery or transactions? Will you pressure your bank to integrate with TIRMS, or rely on alternative verification methods?

SOURCE: https://techcabal.com/2026/03/27/ncc-orders-telcos-to-flag-suspected-scam-numbers-in-real-time/