Poe flags 'dramatic' rise in scam calls despite SIM registration law

Senator Grace Poe on Friday lamented the “dramatic increase” in scam calls within the first quarter of the year, describing it as “disturbing” given the implementation of the SIM Registration law and the ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).

"Executed at a massive scale and with high precision, voice phishing or vishing attacks prey on our unsuspecting kababayans that result in identity theft and financial losses," Poe said in a statement.

Recognizing the passed laws as “not a silver bullet to the scamming menace,” Poe said these policies “can go a long way in fighting cybercrimes.”

“It has institutionalized stricter measures on SIM use and legal basis for penalizing its misuse,” she said.

“By this time, we hope wrongdoers are already feeling the mettle of the law and unsettling those hatching vile scamming plans,” she added.

Poe stressed scammers “should be tried in court and punished.”

“If no one is held accountable, perpetrators will be emboldened to continue with their illegal activities,” she noted.

Poe also called on the relevant agencies, telecommunications, and concerned “stakeholders to continuously come up with innovative solutions to tackle call and text scams.”

“Eliminating scams or at least paring them down to a minimum will require being smarter than the scammer,” she said.

Previously, Senator Win Gatchalian blamed the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for failing to implement the provisions of the SIM registration law, leading scammers involved in illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) to perpetrate fraudulent activities.

Gatchalian criticized the NTC for being lenient in implementing the SIM registration, resulting in ballooning scamming activities through text messaging.

“The NTC should do its job of ensuring effective implementation of the SIM registration law,” he said.

Gatchalian pressed that Republic Act 11934, or the SIM Card Registration Act, was legislated into law “with the main objective of reducing, if not eliminating, scams perpetrated through text or online messages.”

He noted that since the law was enacted on 10 October 2022, “scamming activities have risen significantly, contrary to expectations.”