Cybercrime group wants crackdown on SIM wholesale distributors

MANILA, Philippines — The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) has asked the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and Philippine National Police (PNP) to go after distributors of subscriber identity module cards that might have sold the SIM cards used in illegal activities.

CICC executive director Alexander Ramos said their evaluation of thousands of unregistered SIM cards found by PAOCC in a raid on a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub in Porac, Pampanga identified the telco agents or distributors that sold the SIM cards.

“They (card sellers/distributors) are the weak link, and possibly in cahoots (with scammers in POGOs),” Ramos said.

Ramos said the SIM card distributors and agents of the telcos had pre-registered the SIM cards in bulk before the June 2023 strict deadline for SIM card registration.

“We have given a list of the sources of the compromised SIM card. We gave it to PAOCC, we gave it to PNP,” Ramos told The STAR in an interview yesterday. “Most of the (SIM cards) came from distributors in Mindanao.”

Ramos said they have also asked the country’s telecommunications companies to explain.

“If they fail to explain, they would be penalized by National Telecommunications Commission. We already have our findings and these were submitted to the NTC,” said Ramos.