The days of multiple SIM cards registered in one’s name should soon be over, according to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
On Tuesday, the DICT said capping the number of SIM cards that a prepaid subscriber may register in his name will help stop the rising cases of text scams in the country.
“It’s alarming in the sense that everyday we experience it. Our study (started in) November shows that for every one hi-jacked account there are at least 10 successful online financial crimes,” Alexander Ramos, executive director at DICT’s Cybercrime Investigation Coordinating Center, said on the sidelines of the Cyberphere Philippines Forum 2023.
Ramos estimated the economic loss attributable to cybercrime more or less amounts as high as P500,000 per account.
He acknowledged that even with the mandatory registration of SIM cards, scams perpetrated through text messages and the complaints that follow keep rising.
To address the situation, Ramos said the DICT is crafting guidelines with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to limit the number of registered SIM per subscriber.
According to him, the DICT in one case detected 600 registered SIMs under a single name and that it is abnormal for a prepaid subscriber to have more than 10 SIM cards.
As consequence of this curious situation the government looks to limit the number of registered SIM cards to no more than 10.
“The [telcos] find 10 reasonable, but for us it’s four or five because that’s the average number of SIMs in the prepaid market,” Ramos said.
Data from NTC show a total 113,969,014 SIM cards have been registered as of 30 July, the end of the SIM card registration.
“It’s crucial to recognize that the fight against scams in the Philippines is not just a legislative or governmental issue; it’s a community concern that affects us all,” Jocel de Guzman, co-founder and co-lead convenor of Scam Watch Pilipinas said.
“The SIM registration law has laid the groundwork, but more is needed. Scams are a fast-evolving menace, exploiting loopholes and adapting to countermeasures with alarming speed. The ongoing prevalence of scam messages exposes a gap in our collective shield, a vulnerability that scammers are too eager to exploit.”
Jocel de Guzman, co-founder and co-lead convenor of Scam Watch Pilipinas
De Guzman said increased penalties might be a stronger deterrent but a union of government action, corporate responsibility, and public vigilance will create an effective bulwark against scams.
“Through joint efforts, we can aim for better laws and a more informed and cautious public, making it increasingly difficult for scammers to operate. As we advance in the digital age, our strategies to combat scams must evolve in tandem,” he added.
“Only through multi-layered, cooperative efforts can we hope to stem the tide of this criminal activity and ensure a safer digital space for Filipinos. Therefore, the need for immediate, collective action could not be more urgent, as each delay only grants scammers more opportunities to victimize and undermine the security of the Filipinos,” De Guzman added.
ScamWatchPH is a cybersecurity movement aimed at educating Filipinos against cyber fraud and online scams.
It recently signed a covenant with the DICT, CICC, NTC, and National Privacy Commission, institutionalizing the movement as government’s national citizen arm for cybercrime prevention.
