ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Meta has blocked about 176,000 WhatsApp accounts registered on recycled Pakistani mobile numbers at the request of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, the regulator said, to stop scammers using old accounts that stay active after a SIM is cancelled.
The problem arises when a SIM is cancelled and the number is later reissued to a new subscriber. The WhatsApp account registered on it often stays active, which can let the new holder get into the old account or let fraudsters exploit it. The PTA said it had received several complaints of fraud carried out on WhatsApp through such numbers before it approached Meta.
The regulator has also given Meta about 10 million recycled numbers to check for active accounts. Telecom operators in Pakistan hold about 16 million recycled numbers. Under a continuing arrangement, the PTA will share newly recycled numbers with Meta every month and Meta will deactivate the linked accounts in phases. The PTA says Meta resolved 82 per cent of the complaints it forwarded last year.
What you should do: if you have changed your number, use WhatsApp’s change number feature (Settings, then Account, then Change number) so your account does not stay on the old one. To see which SIMs are registered on your CNIC, send your CNIC number by SMS to 668, and get any SIM you do not use blocked. If a new SIM opens someone else’s WhatsApp account, do not use it. Set up a fresh account instead.
