5 ms·

It is neither illegal nor hard to obtain such a prepaid SIM card.

by remix2000 11mo ago

kube-system 11mo ago
That very much depends on the country, many require ID.
- Kwpolska 11mo ago
  The ID presented at time of purchase does not have to be the ID of the actual user of the card. Your local drunkard will be happy to get $10 to buy a SIM card for you. Or you could visit eBay (or local equivalent) and get a valid SIM card without leaving your house.
  - kube-system 11mo ago
    The suggestion above wasn’t a statement of practicality but rather of EU motivations. Maybe you can also find a drunkard to fork Android for you.
  - noosphr 11mo ago
    >While it is technically feasible, it is not a good idea to try and find a technical solution to a people/organisation problem.
  - logifail 11mo ago
    > The ID presented at time of purchase does not have to be the ID of the actual user of the card In some EU member states this might be fine, but definitely not all. > Your local drunkard will be happy to get $10 to buy a SIM card for you. Buying a SIM card was always the easy bit. Getting it activated may not be, it depends on which country you're in. https://www.telekom.de/prepaid-aktivierung/en/start https://www.telekom.de/prepaid-aktivierung/en/start "For the Selfie-Ident you identify yourself with your identity card, passport or residence permit. (Selfie-Ident is currently possible worldwide with the German ID card, residence permit and passport. Alternatively, you can use Video-Ident and identify yourself in a video call with an employee.) Important: Temporary identification documents are not supported due to internal check. You need a tablet or smartphone with a camera and an internet connection."
    - econ 11mo ago
      Surely others may use your phone?
      - logifail 11mo ago
        If you're happy to purchase a SIM card, register it in your name, and hand it to someone else for them to use, go right ahead. Q: Who's paying the bills for that SIM?
        econ 11mo ago
        I was referring to this part > > The ID presented at time of purchase does not have to be the ID of the actual user of the card >In some EU member states this might be fine, but definitely not all It seems hard if not impossible to prevent or stop?
        logifail 11mo ago
        > It seems hard if not impossible to prevent or stop? Thought experiement: you can buy and register a car, and then lend it to someone else to use. That's certainly "hard if not impossible to prevent or stop" and might seem fine ... right until the point when it isn't fine any more. At which point the police will come to knock on your door (first).
        Kwpolska 11mo ago
        > Q: Who's paying the bills for that SIM? You can anonymously buy top-up vouchers in supermarkets for pay-as-you-go SIMs.
  - codedokode 11mo ago
    In my country, giving a SIM card to another person who does something illegal, is a crime. No doubt EU might soon have the same law - they are pretty good at copying. As a result, sites where I could rent a number for verification, now don't offer local numbers anymore.
- asimops 11mo ago
  Germany requires ID for all SIMs (for "normal" people). You can buy activated SIMs in every bigger city if you know what to look for though.
- remix2000 11mo ago
  You can use any country's SIM card in any other country, regardless of its registration status.
  - kube-system 11mo ago
    … if you have roaming coverage. And even in that case, doing this for a long period of time violates most roaming policies
    - pohuing 11mo ago
      There's eu(maybe even EEA?) wide free roaming legally mandated since I think 2017 or so? But it's not a permanent solution, your second paragraph still holds true.
      - deleted 11mo ago
        [deleted]
      - kube-system 11mo ago
        I know of some UK SIMs that do not roam.
        scarlehoff 11mo ago
        As far as I know it is only EU. Both UK and Switzerland have some operators that roam and some that do not. fwiw, fastweb in Italy provides roaming in both and has a very generous fair usage policy.
        Digit-Al 11mo ago
        That's because we are no longer in the EU. Before Brexit they were legally mandated to allow free roaming in the EU. Now they are back to charging whatever outrageous prices they wish.
    - gambiting 11mo ago
      The only thing that happens is your data becomes a lot more expensive, the card still continues to work as normal. I've not lived in Poland for over 15 years now, and I still have a polish SIM card that I use almost daily - the only thing that I've lost due to roaming long term is cheap data packs, I can still call and text as normal from my monthly allowance.

It is neither illegal nor hard to obtain such a prepaid SIM card.

kube-system 11mo ago

That very much depends on the country, many require ID.

Kwpolska 11mo ago
The ID presented at time of purchase does not have to be the ID of the actual user of the card. Your local drunkard will be happy to get $10 to buy a SIM card for you. Or you could visit eBay (or local equivalent) and get a valid SIM card without leaving your house.
- kube-system 11mo ago
  The suggestion above wasn’t a statement of practicality but rather of EU motivations. Maybe you can also find a drunkard to fork Android for you.
- noosphr 11mo ago
  >While it is technically feasible, it is not a good idea to try and find a technical solution to a people/organisation problem.
- logifail 11mo ago
  > The ID presented at time of purchase does not have to be the ID of the actual user of the card In some EU member states this might be fine, but definitely not all. > Your local drunkard will be happy to get $10 to buy a SIM card for you. Buying a SIM card was always the easy bit. Getting it activated may not be, it depends on which country you're in. https://www.telekom.de/prepaid-aktivierung/en/start https://www.telekom.de/prepaid-aktivierung/en/start "For the Selfie-Ident you identify yourself with your identity card, passport or residence permit. (Selfie-Ident is currently possible worldwide with the German ID card, residence permit and passport. Alternatively, you can use Video-Ident and identify yourself in a video call with an employee.) Important: Temporary identification documents are not supported due to internal check. You need a tablet or smartphone with a camera and an internet connection."
  - econ 11mo ago
    Surely others may use your phone?
    - logifail 11mo ago
      If you're happy to purchase a SIM card, register it in your name, and hand it to someone else for them to use, go right ahead. Q: Who's paying the bills for that SIM?
      - econ 11mo ago
        I was referring to this part > > The ID presented at time of purchase does not have to be the ID of the actual user of the card >In some EU member states this might be fine, but definitely not all It seems hard if not impossible to prevent or stop?
        logifail 11mo ago
        > It seems hard if not impossible to prevent or stop? Thought experiement: you can buy and register a car, and then lend it to someone else to use. That's certainly "hard if not impossible to prevent or stop" and might seem fine ... right until the point when it isn't fine any more. At which point the police will come to knock on your door (first).
      - Kwpolska 11mo ago
        > Q: Who's paying the bills for that SIM? You can anonymously buy top-up vouchers in supermarkets for pay-as-you-go SIMs.
- codedokode 11mo ago
  In my country, giving a SIM card to another person who does something illegal, is a crime. No doubt EU might soon have the same law - they are pretty good at copying. As a result, sites where I could rent a number for verification, now don't offer local numbers anymore.
asimops 11mo ago
Germany requires ID for all SIMs (for "normal" people). You can buy activated SIMs in every bigger city if you know what to look for though.
remix2000 11mo ago
You can use any country's SIM card in any other country, regardless of its registration status.
- kube-system 11mo ago
  … if you have roaming coverage. And even in that case, doing this for a long period of time violates most roaming policies
  - pohuing 11mo ago
    There's eu(maybe even EEA?) wide free roaming legally mandated since I think 2017 or so? But it's not a permanent solution, your second paragraph still holds true.
    - deleted 11mo ago
      [deleted]
    - kube-system 11mo ago
      I know of some UK SIMs that do not roam.
      - scarlehoff 11mo ago
        As far as I know it is only EU. Both UK and Switzerland have some operators that roam and some that do not. fwiw, fastweb in Italy provides roaming in both and has a very generous fair usage policy.
      - Digit-Al 11mo ago
        That's because we are no longer in the EU. Before Brexit they were legally mandated to allow free roaming in the EU. Now they are back to charging whatever outrageous prices they wish.
  - gambiting 11mo ago
    The only thing that happens is your data becomes a lot more expensive, the card still continues to work as normal. I've not lived in Poland for over 15 years now, and I still have a polish SIM card that I use almost daily - the only thing that I've lost due to roaming long term is cheap data packs, I can still call and text as normal from my monthly allowance.