"Attacks" on SIM Card Agents and Sellers: What We Know
The reality of the arbitrage market is that operating without agency accounts and SMS reception services is nearly impossible. In Google, Facebook Ads, TikTok, and other traffic sources, funnels are typically built through agencies. But the niche has problems that can affect the cost and availability of these services.
Today we break down why pressure on agency account providers and SIM card sellers has intensified. We'll analyze the market implications and explore solutions for affiliates.
What Happened to Agency Accounts?
Over the past few months, chats and behind-the-scenes conversations have been buzzing with reports of problems among major agency account and SIM card suppliers. Some sellers have temporarily frozen their operations, while others have scaled back volumes.
On the agency side, it's known through unofficial channels that in high-activity countries — Vietnam, Singapore, and others — government authorities have been paying closer attention to this business. We were told that police are actively hunting down agency cabinet providers against the backdrop of new laws on legalization and taxation.
From local sources, we found that new rules have come into effect for data centers, cloud and OTT services, as well as telephony and internet providers. Providers are now required to register, notify relevant authorities, store user data, and identify subscribers.
In Singapore, provisions of the Cybersecurity Amendment Act took effect on October 31, 2025. They expand oversight of cybersecurity, define new categories of critical infrastructure, and tighten requirements for operators and providers of digital and cyber systems.
It's no secret that the majority of accounts on the market are of Asian origin. They come with the most issues, but not everyone can successfully switch to alternatives. Some providers have been keeping a lower media profile — though this probably hasn't had much impact on account sales.
It's also important to understand that the agency cabinet niche is conditionally gray — most players formally operate on the edge of the rules, and not everyone remembers to account for taxes when working with crypto. So this tightening of the screws was only a matter of time.
The SMS Market Situation
The segment of SMS reception via virtual numbers and SIM card rental is also far from smooth sailing, particularly in Europe. On March 24, 2025, the EU Council proposed unified rules for all member states that would ban the anonymous purchase of prepaid SIM cards.
In Cyprus, mandatory identification for purchasing prepaid SIMs came into force on September 15, 2025. In several other EU countries, the new rules are already in effect or in the process of being implemented.
The tougher operating conditions were introduced against the backdrop of mass raids and takedowns of large SIM farms across Europe. Such law enforcement "operations" have been happening annually and are striking in scale — yet these represent only a small fraction of cases that ever make it into the public eye.
In October 2025 alone, EU law enforcement conducted a large-scale operation against an international SIM farm network under the codename Operation SIMCARTEL — seven suspects were arrested, 1,200 SIM-box devices, 40,000 active SIM cards, and five servers were seized, and two websites used to sell or rent phone numbers registered across 80+ countries were shut down.
According to investigators, approximately 49 million fake accounts were created through this infrastructure and used for fraud, phishing, fake online stores and "banks," "investment" schemes, extortion, and in some cases — distribution of prohibited content and data trafficking.
The operation covered Latvia, Austria, and Estonia. Estimated losses to victims in Austria and Latvia alone exceed €4.5M and €420K respectively, and some of the suspects' assets — bank accounts, crypto, luxury vehicles — have been frozen and seized.
Legitimate services in the market are still operating, but sourcing quality numbers has become significantly harder and, accordingly, more expensive. Providers who could work in the "gray zone" yesterday are now forced to either legalize or move their infrastructure outside the European Union.
There aren't enough numbers to go around — niche chats see several requests daily from affiliates searching for SIM suppliers. As a result, smaller players are effectively left in a predatory market with inflated prices.
Interestingly, while gray-market businesses face heat from law enforcement, "black" services are being promoted without much friction. We covered this in more detail in the article "35% off white: what's hiding behind attractive offers in chats".
Conclusions
It's clear that the affiliate marketing market is becoming increasingly regulated, and operating by the old playbook is getting harder by the day. Fail to adapt, and you'll find yourself on the sidelines.
