The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is considering mandatory physical appearance during SIM registration to combat the continuous proliferation of fraud and scams through alleged selling of SIM identities by unscrupulous individuals.
It’s been almost three years since the Republic Act No. 11934, or the SIM Registration Act, was signed into law in 2022 to curb cybercriminal activities and scams. However, SIM card-related crimes committed by scammers and fraudsters through phone calls and texts are still thriving.
The mandatory physical appearance during SIM card registration aims to simplify identity verification, similar to how you apply for a driver’s license in LTO, or an NBI clearance. This move also aims to deter individuals from selling their identities illegally for fraudulent activities.
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The NTC admitted that “the current online registration process has faced criticism as a contributing factor to the surge in text scams, where unscrupulous individuals exploited the system to sell their identities to others.”
This is despite the penal provision in the law that parties found guilty of the related crime can face an imprisonment of six months to six years and/or fines of Php100,000 to Php300,000.
The NTC said they are now conducting a comprehensive review of the SIM Registration Act’s implementation to propose amendments.
In 2024, they also submitted their proposed amendments to the SIM Registration Act Congress to include provisions granting the agency the authority to regulate the number of SIM cards an individual can own and the limitation of acceptable valid government-issued IDs for registration.
Source: Inquirer