Drop in text scams? DICT thanks SIM registration

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said mobile subscribers in the Philippines are now seeing a decline in text scams after the government implemented SIM registration.

SIM card

An end to text scams soon?

During a Palace briefing on Tuesday, DICT Secretary Ivan Uy said he has been recording a "significant drop" in malicious messages.

Dati, before this law was signed ilang text messages ang natatanggap niyo sa isang araw? I'm sure all of you felt the significant drop, Uy said.

The DICT chief said he used to receive at least six text messages, but the number was reduced to one to two messages after telecommunications firms boosted their efforts to entice subscribers to register their SIM cards.

In 2022, cybercriminals were targeting Filipinos through phishing messages sent through their mobile numbers. The situation prompted Philippine authorities and even telco players to heighten their fight against scammers and find ways to protect subscribers.

This also encouraged government officials to pass the SIM registration law to put an end to the rising test scams.

Almost a month into the SIM registration, Uy said over 20 million SIM cards are now registered.

There are 168.97 million active users in the Philippines. All subscribers have until April 26 of this year to comply. But the Department of Information and Communications Technology may opt to extend the deadline by another 120 days.

Source: CNN Philippines