Law enforcement wants to end anonymous phone cards

TALLINN (BNS) - To clip the wings of the makers of bomb threats, the
Interior Ministry plans to push through the idea that pre-paid
mobile telephone cards be in future sold only upon presentation of
identification.

Interior Minister Tarmo Loodus said the idea is still being thrashed
out in brainstorming sessions, but that its implementation is seen to
be of great benefit in combatting a recent rash of bomb threats, the
daily Postimees reports.

"In no case do we intend to demand that pre-paid cards be removed
from the market, but they should have a certain degree of
personalization so that card buyer would always leave some mark
behind," Loodus told the newspaper.

Tallinn police chief Juri Kasesalu said personalization of the cards
would facilitate cracking cases, not only of phoned bomb threats, but
of all kinds of crime. He added that tougher rules of selling
pre-paid cards obtain in many European countries since long ago, as
they have laws that don't allow operators to sell anonymous cards.

"Disappearance of anonymous cards would allow the Estonian state to
save a great deal of resources," Kasesalu said. "Police will sooner
or later track down a maker of bomb threats in any case, but the
process would be considerably simpler and speedier in case [there
were no anonymous pre-paid cards]."