DICT on stolen and preregistered SIMs: “Ito ay ipinagbabawal sa batas at hindi lang po yan multa, may kasama po yang kulong”
DICT – The Department of Information and Communications Technology recently warned the public against stolen and preregistered SIMs.
On Thursday, the DICT said that scammers may use stolen and preregistered SIMs (subscriber identity modules) in tricking mobile phone users.
DICT Undersecretary Anna Mae Lamentillo said in an interview on GMA News’ “Unang Hirit” that buying and selling stolen and preregistered SIMs is prohibited by the law and punishable not only with fines but also imprisonment.
With the implementation of mandatory SIM registration, Lamentillo pointed out that scammers may find other ways in order to trick mobile phone users.
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Lamentillo added that scammers may use “spoofing” and fake websites that are pretending to be part of the SIM registration process.
Because of this, Lamentillo advised the public to only go to the official websites of the telecommunications companies. According to Lamentillo, a total of more than 21.782 million of the 168.977 million mobile phone users nationwide have registered so far.
She also advised the public to immediately report to their telco providers if their SIMs are stolen because fraudsters might use their identity in illegal activities.
“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.
Lamentillo also warned that authorities will go after scammers who will use the SIM registration process to “defeat the purpose of the law”.
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