The National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) is planning to implement a feature that will allow citizens to prevent the activation of new mobile lines associated with their Individual Taxpayer Registry (CPF). This functionality, named "Anatel Protege," aims to help prevent fraud and scams, functioning similarly to BC Protege+, a service offered by the Central Bank for blocking the opening of bank accounts.
According to information released by Mobile Time, the purpose of this service is to combat the practice known as "subscription fraud." In this type of crime, malicious individuals use third parties' personal data without permission to register phone numbers for illicit purposes.
The mechanism works simply: when an operator receives a request to open a new line, it must check the service's database. If it shows that the applicant's CPF has the cell phone activation block, the process cannot be finalized.
This dynamic mirrors BC Protege+, where the Central Bank's system is consulted by financial institutions when receiving account opening requests. If the CPF or CNPJ consulted is blocked in this system, the account will not be opened.
Additionally, Mobile Time reported that Anatel Protege will be accessible via Gov.br authentication, will be free for the user, and will allow the citizen to activate or deactivate the block on their CPF at any time.
It is important to note that Anatel has not officially confirmed the creation of the service. However, according to Mobile Time, Anatel Protege is in the study phase and has already been presented to mobile operators and internet providers.
Tecnoblog requested additional clarification on this new service from Anatel, and the text will be updated if a response is obtained. Meanwhile, the Consulta Pré-Pago website remains available, allowing users to check if a CPF has active prepaid lines with the operators Algar, Claro, Sercomtel, TIM, and Vivo. This website only indicates which operators have active lines under the consulted CPF, without exposing numbers or personal data; if there are unknown lines, the individual must contact the operator immediately.