Law enforcement authorities should impose stiffer penalties against individuals who would be caught selling registered subscriber identity modules (SIMs) that are eventually used in various cybercrime activities.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian made the call following the revelation of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Cyber Division Chief Jeremy Lotoc that registered SIMs are being sold openly on various social media platforms during the Senate Committee on Public Services’ hearing on the continued proliferation of text scams despite the enactment into law of the SIM Registration Act.
Lotoc also disclosed that the NBI team successfully registered with unnamed telecommunications operators’ SIMs using the photograph of a smiling monkey.
This, according to the NBI official, indicates that unscrupulous individuals can and are able to circumvent the rules under the SIM registration law.
Gatchalian said criminal groups have taken advantage of the fact that registered SIMs are being sold openly as it has accumulated tens of thousands of SIMs which were later used in various investment, cryptocurrency, and love scams.
The senator surmised that such groups include those fronting as Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
“The basic objective of the law is that if we register the SIM, there will be accountability meaning you can go after the registered person if needed because the anonymity is creating a lot of problems,” he said.
“Maybe we need to increase the penalties and make them hefty,” he said.
He said telco providers should also put in place an effective post-validation mechanism to determine the veracity of a SIM user’s details.
“There should be some form of post-validation if it's not automatic. ‘Yung monkey example is bastusan talaga. There should be at least some form of validation so we can establish who is accountable for that post-validation. We cannot allow horses, monkeys, and gorillas to be registered. We have to do something. If we are not going to do something, this will happen over and over again,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Globe Telecom said that aside from acknowledging the persistent threat of cybercrimes, they are now supporting the passage into law of the proposed Anti-Money Mule and Financial Fraud bills that are now pending in Congress.
The measure criminalizes online scammers and penalize them with jail time.
Globe Group noted that in the current digital landscape, a concerning trend has emerged where people find themselves trapped in the deceptive web of online scammers where they are often tempted by the allure of easy money or duped by cunning tactics.
According to Globe, these individuals knowingly or unknowingly become "mules."
“I think that will put a lot of teeth into the things that we are doing against scammers because if your name is implicated, then you can be an accessory to the crime. Right now people do not value or do not put a lot of emphasis on their identity being used in crimes,” Ernest Cu, Globe Group President and CEO, said.
Cu said there have been reported incidents of individuals registering their SIMs and setting up e-wallets and bank accounts only to sell them to fraudsters.
While some may believe they are engaging in a harmless or victimless act, Cu said they are, in fact, supporting complex criminal activities.
“These are things that should be made a criminal offense in this country. Because you are making yourself an accessory, you're aiding in the commitment of a crime,” he said.
“That sort of thing, I think, should be stopped through a law that we are also pushing Congress to enact,” the Globe executive said.