MANILA - Authorities are warning against a new type of scam where scammers tell mobile phone users that their SIMs would be suspended due to violations.  

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center  (CICC) has advised the public to ignore  calls from individuals threatening to suspend their SIM card registration, purportedly because it had been used in sending out messages related to unlawful activities  such as illegal recruitment for work abroad, online casino and human trafficking.

The callers would introduce themselves as employees of the Department of information and Communications Technology, according to CICC Executive director Alexander Ramos.

“We are once again appealing to the public to ignore calls from suspicious or anonymous callers “ Ramos said .

He also urged the public to report cybercrime incidents  to  the Inter Agency Response Center Hotline 1326 to  prevent cybercrime.

“By reporting to authorities ,  you are also helping other people by  preventing  them  from becoming future victims,” he  said.

The SIM Registration Act was supposed to curb the use of mobile phones for scams and other crimes. However, despite the enactment of the measure, text scams continued to proliferate. The DICT has said that some illegal POGOs or Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators were behind the scams.