Only active subscriber identity module (SIM) cards-those registered with identification details and card of the owner-can be used after the period for registration expired last Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Those who fail to register will see the deactivation of text, calls and mobile data services, including social media access, on their phones.
Republic Act 11934 or the SIM Registration Act aims to stop digital crimes, including text scamming, and ensure the right to privacy of mobile phone owners. As of July 24, the day before the deadline, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) reported that 105.9 million or 63 percent of active SIM cards have been registered.
In the original deadline last April 26, only 54,090,725, or 32.01 percent of the 168,977,773 million subscribers nationwide registered their SIM. How the registered numbers were doubled was tied to aggressive campaigns to comply with the law and telecommunications companies and financial institutions contributing to the effort.
From the start, the NTC said the registration of SIMs will not eradicate mobile phone scams but would make it difficult for scammers to continue with their evil ways. But scammers will find ways to defeat the law and continue with their fraudulent activities.
Experts have warned that scammers may use fake, forged or stolen identification documents to register under false identities. They may even bribe people working in the telcos to accept illegal registrations. They may do this in remote areas where verification is not strict. They can do bulk registration using the identities of people unaware of the scam and willingly give out their information in exchange for cash or a prize.
Scammers also resort to cloning SIM cards or they may purchase pre-registered cards sold in the black market. Scammers have been known to be resourceful, persistent, and insistent, there are ways for scammers to trick the system and defeat the registration requirement.
What regulators and telcos can do to combat these tactics and ensure the law will prevail is for them to consistently raise awareness of the risks still present despite the registration requirement and continue to remind people to register their numbers.
Important also is to have a reporting mechanism in place. A hotline or one place where complaints can be made would be better than having to go through the reporting mechanism of individual telcos. The point is to make it easy for the public to report suspicious activities or the fraudulent use of mobile services.
Since the deadline for registration lapsed, text messages on accounts to be frozen, job offers, and gambling credits have stopped. It has been only five days since the deadline passed, and we need to do more than keep our fingers crossed that those pesky text messages will disappear for good.