Agents of the Anti-Cybercrime Group of the Philippine National Police (PNP-ACG) have arrested seven people for allegedly selling subscriber identity module (SIM) cards in a three-day entrapment operation in Ermita, Manila.
PNP-ACG director Ronnie Francis Cariaga said the operations were part of the aggressive campaign against rampant online scams wherein registered SIM cards are being used by cybercriminals.
He said the SIM cards are being sold from P14 to P3,500, with those connected to online payment service providers being sold at a higher price.
In the case of the three people arrested in Manila, Cariaga said the suspects claimed that they engaged in such illegal activities because of high demand for registered SIM cards which are pre-registered.
The registration of SIM cards is now mandatory under the SIM Registration Law.
PNP-ACG spokesperson Lt. Wallen Mae Arancillo said around 400 registered SIM cards were seized from the three suspects.
“These SIM cards can be used for text scams and even creating social media accounts that could be used for scamming activities,” said Arancillo.
She said that the aggressive operation was based on the ACG observation during their monitoring and investigation about bulk orders or sale of registered SIM cards last year.
“Based on our investigation, SIM cards linked to the verified account of the payment service provider are more expensive because they can be used for transfers, cash in cash out and also when borrowing money,” said Arancillo.
The PNP-ACG then reminded the public that the illegal online sale of SIM cards is punishable by law, with significant fines and imprisonment.
Cariaga said people whose names appeared in the SIM registration could also be in trouble if the SIM cards are used in criminal activities.
“This is just the beginning of a series of operations targeting the illegal online sale of registered SIM cards. We will continue our cyber patrols and investigations until these cybercriminals are apprehended and brought to justice,” said Cariaga.
The arrested suspects are facing face charges for violation of RA 12010, also known as the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA), and Section 7 (Subsequent Sale of Registered SIM Cards) of RA 11934, or the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration Act, in relation to Section 6 of RA 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012).