Prepaid mobile phone ID checks failed to stop fraud, according to an Australian Productivity Commission report into business regulations released on Friday.
The report revealed the requirement to check the bona fides of customers was a hassle for Australia's 30,000 mobile phone retailers.
"While it is not clear that there are substantial benefits from the identity check regime, the process does impose significant costs on both the industry and consumers," the report stated.
Fraud could undermine the ID checks as retail sales staff struggled to validate identity documents, the commission concluded.
"There appears to be considerable difficulty in preventing access to anonymous prepaid services for those determined to do so," the report noted, adding the whole regime could be avoided by importing prepaid phones.
Source: Xinhua
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