PARLIAMENT is poised to change the law to make it compulsory for users of prepaid phone cards to supply their identification when buying the service, officials said yesterday.
Authorities are concerned that a large number of illegal activities are conducted by using prepaid phone cards, which provide anonymity.
“What is important is for specific number to correspond to the identity card of the person who bought it,” said DISY deputy Ionas Nicolaou, chairman of the House Legal Affairs Committee. “There should be a name next to the number.”
The issue came to the fore last week when a company belonging to the chairman of the Cyprus Football Association Costas Koutsokoumnis was bombed.
According to Koutsokoumnis he had received a threatening call the day before but he did not report it to police as they had been unable to do anything about it in previous occasions.
Police, who want the law changed to oblige users to supply their identities, have said that despite their efforts, it is impossible to track down perpetrators under the circumstances.
DIKO deputy Angelos Votsis said he had asked the parliament’s services to prepare a law proposal to tackle this “serious problem.”
“There have been complaints by a lot of people who have been harassed by unknown individuals who cannot be traced,” Votsis said.
It is understood that the proposal would be ready for submission soon.
Greece has passed a similar law in a bid to curb terrorism and crime.