UK SIM Farm Ban: Offences Apply From October 29, 2026

The UK has made SIM farms a criminal matter. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 received Royal Assent on April 29, 2026, and on July 27, 2026 the Home Office published guidance on the new offences of possessing and supplying SIM farms. A six-month transition period applies, and the guidance says that from October 29, 2026 a person convicted of an offence may face a financial penalty.

The law defines a SIM farm as a device capable of using five or more physical SIM cards simultaneously or interchangeably to make calls or send or receive messages to phone numbers. These devices are widely used to blast out scam texts at volume. The government first announced the ban in April 2025.

Possession is an offence only without a good reason or lawful authority. The guidance gives examples of legitimate uses, including broadcasting equipment, on-train Wi-Fi and freight tracking in transport, and network testing by communications providers, and says the list is not exhaustive.

For ordinary users, the effect should be indirect: fewer scam texts sent from banks of SIM cards, and more pressure on anyone running bulk messaging or bulk account creation. It is one of several UK moves in 2026, alongside new Ofcom rules on scam texts, aimed at the infrastructure behind smishing. Verifying your own account with a single number is a different thing entirely, but the direction of travel is clear: regulators are targeting tools built for sending or verifying at scale.

What to do

If you get a suspicious text in the UK, forward it to 7726 and never share a verification code someone asks you for.

Sources

• GOV.UK - Crime and Policing Act 2026 guidance: offences relating to SIM farms
• ISPreview - UK government confirms Europe-first ban on SIM farms