Telecom giant Globe has lauded the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) for the arrest of two people suspected of illegally selling pre-registered SIM cards in violation of the SIM Registration Act.

In a sting operation, CIDG officers caught two Chinese nationals trying to sell thousands of pre-registered SIMs. They seized 4,000 SIMs in total — 1,700 from Globe and 2,300 from TM — believed to be intended for criminal activities like online phishing, romance scams, and mobile phone fraud.

Under the SIM Registration Act, violators face six months to six years in jail and/or fines between P100,000 and P300,000.

“This is a big win against scammers, and we commend the PNP-CIDG for their work,” said Atty. Froilan Castelo of Globe. “It shows the SIM Registration Act is working and helping us fight fraud.”

Globe reminded customers to only register SIMs under their own names (unless it’s for a minor child or someone else in their care). They also warned against accepting money to register SIMs for other people.

Globe also advised customers to be careful about buying SIMs with damaged packaging, as this could mean they’ve been used before.