Inquirer file photo
MANILA, Philippines — Some 10.8 million mobile numbers have been blacklisted while another 2.3 million SIM (subscriber identity module) cards have been deactivated this year on suspicions that these were being used in cyber fraud, according to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
At the Senate plenary budget deliberations early Wednesday, the DICT said the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) had also blocked more than 2.2 billion text messages that were sent by scammers involved in various fraudulent activities.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who spoke on behalf of the DICT as sponsor of its budget request of P7.8 billion for 2025, said this followed the NTC’s instruction for telcos to be “very strict” in issuing SIM cards.
READ: NTC warns vs sale of pre-registered SIM cards
“The NTC is doing its share to make sure that text blasts, or spam as we call it, will be reduced,” Gatchalain told Sen. Risa Hontiveros during her interpellation of the DICT’s proposed spending plan.
“The good thing is that the NTC managed to block a lot of SIM cards and prevented spamming and scamming from happening,” he added.
According to the lawmaker, the state regulator has already directed telcos to upgrade their technology to detect fraudulent registration of SIM cards, pointing out that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) had previously shown that it could register a SIM card using a photo of a monkey.
“The system that the telcos are using is very primitive. So NTC released several memos to telcos (directing them) to use the latest technology to detect fraud and fake identities,” he pointed out.
Persistent problem
Hontiveros said Republic Act No. 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, penalizes computer-related crimes, such as forgery, fraud, and identity theft.
She said the law also created the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), an attached agency of the DICT, to craft the country’s cybersecurity program and lead the government’s operations against cybercrimes.
“But text scams pretending to be messages sent by banks and e-wallets persist,” Hontiveros lamented.
“I thought it was bad enough that a blind person could get a driver’s license. It’s worse that a monkey has been issued with a SIM card,” she said.
“Although some of us might look like gorillas, (telcos) should be able to detect a gorilla even if they are using a low-technology system,” she added.
To prevent fraudulent registration, Gatchalian said the NTC required mobile phone users to upload live selfie pictures to validate their SIM cards.
He said the use of stock selfie photos has been disallowed to ensure that the registrant was a living person.
The senator added that the CICC, meanwhile, has participated in the government’s efforts to locate and shut down scam hubs masquerading as Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos).
The center was instrumental in the closure of 11 scam facilities, which were raided with the help of the NBI and the Philippine National Police, Gatchalian said.
“They have the technology to detect scam hubs in the country. And they also have a hotline that people can call and report to this type of scamming operation,” he said.
Public advisories
The DICT earlier reported an increase in scam messages that now imitate legitimate advisories from popular e-wallet services such as GCash and Maya.
CICC Executive Director Alexander Ramos also warned against phishing scams disguised as e-wallet providers and urged the public to verify messages and avoid clicking on suspicious links to protect themselves from fraud.
Early this month, the Philippine National Police Anti-Cyber Crime Group (PNP-ACG) warned consumers against text scams that merge with legitimate message threads, making it increasingly challenging for account holders to distinguish between genuine messages and fraudulent ones.
“If you receive a message with links pretending to be from a bank or financial institution, it is likely a spoofing scam. In this type of scam, cybercriminals fake an email address, phone number, or website to make it look like it is from a trusted source. They use malicious software to make the message appear real,” ACG officer in charge Col. Vina Guzman said.
She added that staying vigilant in all online transactions is essential, as scammers as expected to be on the prowl for victims, particularly this Christmas holidays.