MANILA — The National Telecommunications Commission on Friday said the mandatory SIM registration is free, following reports of unscrupulous individuals asking for a fee in exchange for assistance.

The ABS-CBN News Team was able to find social media posts advertising such services for fees of P10 per SIM.

The NTC said anyone caught doing this will be punished. Aside from the law specifically indicating that the registration should be free, bad actors may also use personal data obtained in the process for fraud and identity theft, it added.

PLDT and Smart FVP and Head of Group Corporate Communications Cathy Yang said they have encountered a new scam where SIM users are being charged for registration.

“They are charging a fee, if you need help with SIM registration, bayad ng fee. Libre po ang pag-register, at libre din po ang tulong na ibibigay ng Smart sa Smart Stores, booths at touch points. So just be assured that everything is free. Ito ang kauna-unahang scam na na-encounter namin," she said during a briefing at the NTC headquarters.

(Registration is free, the help offered by Smart at Smart Stores, booths and touch points is also free... This is the first scam we have encountered on this.)

The NTC said 8.31 percent or 14,050,125 SIMs of all active SIMs have been registered as of Jan. 4, 2023. The tally will be updated later on Jan. 6.

However, the impact of the SIM registration in reducing SMS-related scams or smishing may only be assessed after the registration process is over in April, NTC officer-in-charge Commissioner Ella Lopez said.

For now, there are still smishing complaints being lodged with the regulator, she said.

“So far po of course meron pa rin kaming natatangap na complaints kasi po, active pa naman po ang mga hindi nagre-register na scammer. They have until April 25, 2023 to register," Lopez said.

(There are still complaints, the scammers who have yet to register remain active.)

“Malalaman po natin ang effect after SIM registration, magkaroon ng assessment ang lahat ng relevant government agencies and law enforcement agencies. Ang goal lang namin po is matangal namin sila [scammers] ng isang kamay para sa di sila makapagloko ng mga tao," she added.

(We will know of the impact once there has been an assessment of all relevant agencies. The goal is to remove them so they won't be able to scam people.)

• Implementing rules for SIM registration released with hefty fines for violators
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