The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has warned individuals about stealing and pre-registering SIM cards as the country implements a SIM registration law.
DICT Undersecretary Anna Mae Lamentillo told GMA News that not only sellers, but also buyers of stolen and pre-registered SIM cards are liable.
“May mga report po na nagbebenta ng stolen SIM cards or preregistered SIM cards. Sinasabi lang po namin na ito ay ipinagbabawal sa batas at hindi lang po yan multa, may kasama po yang kulong,” Lamentillo said.
The DICT official stated that scammers will likely become more creative in victimizing SIM users to bypass the law.
“Alam namin na yung iti-take advantage at yung gagamitin sa mga scams ay yung stolen SIM cards,” she said.
Lamentillo advised the public to immediately report to their telecom providers if their SIM card is stolen.
“Kung ayaw mo mag-register meron silang mga preregistered SIM cards na ibibigay sa ‘yo, so yung gagamitin mo, hindi na naka-identify at naka-tag sa iyong pangalan,” she said.
The DICT warned that authorities will go after fraudsters who will use the SIM registration process to “defeat the purpose of the law.”
Based on their data, over 21.782 million of the 168.977 million subscribers nationwide have registered their sim.
