Does Mexico’s mandatory cellphone registry really work? Content creator shows how to register with fake data

A viral TikTok demonstration has intensified debate over Mexico’s mandatory cellphone registration after content creator Adrián de la Peña showed how he completed the process with an altered identification document.

De la Peña said he entered the official portal, requested a verification code by text message and uploaded identification documents. For the test, he used a screenshot of another person’s voter card and replaced its photograph with his own using basic editing software.

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That's how easy it is to fool Mexico's cellphone line registration or linking system. I only needed five minutes, a computer, a phone and an ID card that isn't mine.

The recording shows the automated system accepting the edited document despite a mismatch between the written information and the small security image. A facial-recognition and motion-based biometric check then approved the registration immediately.

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The modification is accepted.

“That's how easy it is to fool Mexico's cellphone line registration or linking system. I only needed five minutes, a computer, a phone and an ID card that isn't mine,” de la Peña said. He added that “the modification is accepted” and warned that weak controls could allow third parties to use innocent citizens’ data without their consent.

The video has surpassed 3.8 million views and received nearly half a million positive reactions. Commenters said they had completed the process using the identification documents of deceased people or relatives to protect their privacy. In the text accompanying the post, de la Peña questioned the registry’s reliability and warned about the misuse of copied identification documents. He said linking a cellphone number was not inherently wrong, but argued that the government must ensure data security and a reliable registry.

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The idea of linking the cellphone number is not bad. The problem is the government's ability to guarantee the security of that data and the reliability of the registry.