SIM / Proxy Farm Legislation – Will UK Crack Down on Mobile Proxy/Data Too?

[soermejo]

Hey guys, I’ve been reading up on the UK government’s recent SIM farm legislation proposal aimed at preventing telecom fraud. They’re planning a new criminal offence for supplying or possessing SIM farm devices that hold more than four SIM cards and can send calls/texts, with unlimited fines and defences for legitimate uses. This is all to stop scammers from blasting out mass SMS and scam communications.

Right now the focus in the UK is clearly on SMS/call‑based SIM farms, but the law isn’t supposed to apply to data‑only devices that don’t send texts or make calls — at least in the current draft. That suggests the government is specifically targeting the tech used in fraud and smishing, not general multi‑SIM data access.

So the question for the community is: do you think this crackdown will expand soon to include mobile data proxy farms too? The gray area is real — laws update fast, and definitions that start with SMS/call equipment could easily be broadened later to include any tech used at scale to mask identity or automate telecom access.

It’s tricky because the UK wants to reduce fraud but also doesn’t want to catch legit tech in the net, so they exempt data‑only devices for now. But tech evolves fast and what’s exempt today could be targeted tomorrow if regulators decide it’s being abused.


Would love to hear your thoughts!

 

[Yoram]

Sorry, could you please use mybb URL code's for links?
It's a bit hard to read with so much text from URL's

But yes I understand your concerns. I also wonder how this is done, been thinking about opening some SIM contracts to rent 4G proxies in the Netherlands for a while

 

[soermejo]

Sorry, could you please use mybb URL code's for links?
It's a bit hard to read with so much text from URL's

But yes I understand your concerns. I also wonder how this is done, been thinking about opening some SIM contracts to rent 4G proxies in the Netherlands for a while

How do I do it ? While editing it was showing ok. It doesen't allow me to edit it.

 

[soermejo]

Sorry, could you please use mybb URL code's for links?
It's a bit hard to read with so much text from URL's

But yes I understand your concerns. I also wonder how this is done, been thinking about opening some SIM contracts to rent 4G proxies in the Netherlands for a while

The problem is that normal sim business contract don't allow for reselling connectivity. Only wholesale do.

 

[verismei_meint]

The UK's current SIM farm legislation explicitly exempts data-only devices, but regulators will inevitably expand their focus to mobile proxy farms if they become a primary tool for fraud and large-scale identity obfuscation, so operators must prepare for stricter KYC and usage logging requirements to maintain legitimacy.