There is a need to adjust the Implementing Rules and Regulations, or IRR, of the SIM Registration Act as text scams remain rampant despite the law being in place.

Thus, the National Telecommunications Commission said it targets releasing the revised guidelines as early as next week to curb the proliferation of scams.

In a television interview on Thursday, NTC Deputy Commissioner Jon Paulo Salvahan said discussions were held with the National Privacy Commission to ensure that any revisions to the IRR would comply with the law.

"We are looking at revising the IRR, and by next week we can issue the amendments since we have constant meetings," Salvahan said.

He said that regulators are studying the viability of limiting the number of SIM cards allowed per user, among other provisions of the IRR provisions.

"We are studying that because it is not included in the IRR, and we want to see if we can lawfully do that," he said.

At a recent Senate hearing, NTC Commissioner Ella Blanca Lopez disclosed that the agency had received more than 45,000 complaints of text scams despite the law being in place.

Salvahan, in another public briefing on Thursday, claimed the SIM Registration Act was working, adding that its implementation was only the first step towards deterring online fraud and scams.

"We are still ongoing, and we are developing and improving the SIM registration process together with the telcos so that we can fully achieve the purpose for which this law was passed," he added.

Meantime, Salvahan reiterated that the NTC is continuously intensifying its law enforcement efforts in partnership with the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation to identify those behind text scams and text spams.

Fraudsters have found a new way to hack people, this time using over-the-top or OTT media services such as chat apps, which are outside the scope of telco filters. They are capitalizing on the increasing shift to a more digital lifestyle.

Cybercriminals use the target's full name and pretend to be messaging a missed connection or making various offers, among other modus operandi. They create a sense of familiarity and trust in an attempt to start a conversation.