Over 7,000 SIM cards that have already been registered were seized by the Philippine National Police (PNP) from a Taiwanese national and two Filipino accomplices during a raid in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan last Wednesday.
The PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) is yet to reveal the identity of the suspects until follow-up operations against other accomplices are to be completed.
It is said that the suspects have violated Section 14 of the Republic Act No. 8484 or the Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998, in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2022 with the presumption and prima facie evidence of intent to defraud.
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The authorities confiscated 7,308 SIM cards that are from different telco companies. Some of the said registered SIM cards were found to have verified e-wallet accounts on GCash, Maya, PayPal, and Coins.ph, as well as online banking accounts from UnionBank, Maybank, and SeaBank.
According to the ACG, the suspects were purchasing registered SIM cards since August of 2022 from people living in provinces that need fast cash.
Each SIM reportedly cost them Php400 as long as they are confirmed to have registered and verified e-wallet accounts.
The SIM cards will then be sold to scammers, which they can use for fraudulent transactions and other related crimes.
Registered SIM cards can be sold for as low as Php350 up to Php500 online.
The ACG has warned the public against selling registered SIM cards, which violates RA 11934 or the SIM Registration Act.
Via: Inquirer.net