INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Telco giant Globe Telecom promised a “painless” and safe experience for over 80 million customers as the government moves forward with the implementation of the SIM Registration Act.
The law, which aims to cut cases of fraud and other illegal activities, requires mobile phone subscribers to register their SIM cards and present documents to verify their identities.
Globe said the National Telecommunications Commission had already commenced consultations with relevant government agencies and stakeholders, including telecommunications providers, for the crafting of the implementing rules and regulations of the law that was signed on Oct. 10.
“We intend for our SIM registration process to be as seamless and painless to our customers as possible. Our goal is to stay true to the spirit of the law in carrying out its provisions, while ensuring that the conduct of SIM registration will be secure, inclusive and convenient for our customers,” Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu said in a statement.
“We’d like to assure our customers that their data will be protected even as we give them a hassle-free registration process. We wish to effectively roll out this landmark law,” he added.
Once the IRR is approved and published, Globe will start the registration of all existing users of SIMs, including physical SIM cards and e-SIMs on mobile devices.
Globe added it was “looking at international best practices in designing its SIM registration platform.”
“It is also leveraging its suite of best-in-class digital solutions to deliver an easy but secure registration system,” the telco explained.
Globe underscored the threat posed by scammers, whose tactics include using text messages to trick unwitting victims into giving up personal data that could be used to compromise their financial accounts.
On its own, Globe has taken steps to crack down on these schemes via “proactive blocking, threat intelligence partnerships with financial institutions, a customer reporting portal and an awareness and education campaign to help customers protect themselves.”
From January to September this year, Globe has deactivated 16,215 mobile numbers and blacklisted 19,343 more for involvement in scam and spam messaging. It also blocked a total 1.3 billion spam and scam messages within the same period.