Telco fined for foul-up

VODAFONE will update its technology systems after failing to verify the identities of thousands of customers before activating their prepaid mobile phone services.

The telecommunications watchdog has rapped Vodafone over the knuckles after an information technology glitch allowed customers to selfselect online that their identities had been verified in-store when buying a prepaid mobile.

Vodafone said a computer system update had accidentally allowed customers to bypass these checks and activate their service by selfselecting that their IDs had already been checked in-store.