New rule limits customers to 10 postpaid SIM cards across all telcos
The move comes as Singapore’s authorities tighten SIM card limits to prevent illicit use and protect the public against scams.
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SINGAPORE: Individuals will only be able to register up to 10 postpaid SIM cards across all telcos from end-February, as Singapore’s authorities tighten SIM card limits to prevent illicit use.
Currently, individuals can register up to 10 postpaid SIM cards per telco.
“From Feb 28, telcos will further tighten the rules such that each person will only be permitted to register a maximum of 10 postpaid SIM cards across all the telcos,” said the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the police on Friday (Jan 23).
The new rules will be applied to new subscriptions to minimise the impact on the legitimate use of such SIM cards, said the authorities in a joint press release.
Legitimate subscribers who have registered more than 10 postpaid SIM cards before Feb 28 can retain their SIM cards.
“However, such subscribers will not be able to sign up for additional SIM cards,” said IMDA and the police.
SIM cards under company or corporation subscription plans, as well as data-only SIM cards that cannot send SMSes and make calls, will not be affected by the new limit, they added.
The move “aims to minimise the illicit purchase and use of SIM cards, while catering to the needs of legitimate users, such as those who require a higher number of SIM cards for family members or for business purposes”, the authorities said.
PAST RESTRICTIONS ON SIM CARD REGISTRATION
Authorities have been tightening SIM card limits over the years as part of anti-scam measures implemented by IMDA and telcos.
In April 2015, authorities reduced the maximum number of prepaid SIM cards a person could register from 10 across all telcos to three.
In April last year, authorities limited individuals to up to 10 postpaid SIM cards per telco.
Other safeguards were also put in place. These included requiring government-issued identification documents for registering SIM cards and Singpass for online registrations.
Foreign passports are also no longer allowed for postpaid SIM card registrations.
“Despite these measures, IMDA and (the) Singapore Police Force are still observing an increasing trend of SIM mules purchasing postpaid SIM cards in bulk across different retailers,” said the authorities.
“After purchasing the SIM cards, the mules would hand them over to criminal syndicates or scammers, who will then use them for illicit purposes.”
If convicted, scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates face mandatory caning of at least six strokes and up to 24 strokes.
Scam mules face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes.
They will also be barred from registering any new SIM cards.
Discretionary caning will apply if the offender knew or intended for their actions to be used to commit or facilitate scams.
It will also apply if the enabler was used in a scam, the offender knew or had reason to believe it would be used for a crime and they did not take reasonable steps to ensure it would not be used to commit or facilitate the commission of a scam.
“To avoid being an accomplice to crimes, members of the public should always reject requests from others to use their SIM cards as they will be held accountable if these SIM cards are linked to crimes,” said IMDA and the police.
“IMDA will continue to assess if more measures are required to strengthen existing levers against scams,” they added.
The police said in a separate news release on Friday that they had arrested 35 people between Jan 8 and 16 for their suspected involvement in providing registered postpaid SIM cards for monetary gains.
Seventeen others are assisting with investigations, they added.
The subscribers handed over between 30 and 69 registered SIM cards to the syndicate’s courier, said the police.
According to preliminary investigations, they had allegedly been offered between S$15 (US$11) and S$20 per registered SIM card.
Anyone convicted of knowingly providing a registered SIM card to another person to facilitate a crime for any gain may face a fine of up to S$10,000, up to three years’ jail or both.
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