Monkey pic in SIM reg
By Nidz Godino
"All of us are playing catch-up with technology…we have to keep updating because it is frustrating, and it is adding insult to injury that smiling monkey can register SIM card," National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) cybercrime chief Jeremy Lotoc lamented photo of smiling monkey passed through undetected in SIM card registration site of telecommunications companies.
During Senate public services committee hearing into proliferation of text scams in the country, NBI cybercrime chief Jeremy Lotoc showed video of his agents registering fake PhilHealth ID bearing picture of monkey in registration site of Globe Telecom Inc.
Sen. Grace Poe said it is "insult" to law's implementation.
"It's looking like what we have now is not really sufficient…we will have to go back to drawing board," she noted.
This could have been prevented if telcos did not oppose including facial recognition technology in SIM Registration Act's implementing rules and regulations, Poe stressed.
Ariel Tubayan, head of Globe's Policy Division, Corporate and Legal Services Group, reacted to NBI's video, admitting lapses but denying telcos were against idea of using facial recognition technology.
Government should have fully implemented national ID system for telcos to gain access to biometrics database to verify registrants' IDs, he noted.
But Sen. Joel Villanueva retorted, "you think your system is working…if... you see this application form of monkey smiling at you, what the heck are you doing?"
Tubayan said their system requires selfie pictures from registrants to verify their ID. Those who submit fake IDs will be held liable.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian want stiffer penalties against people selling registered SIM cards and stricter policies for money transfer services syndicates use.
"I asked telecom companies why there are still too many text scams…today, I got text message that read 'Good news…you can get free tickets,' I want to ask them about this... they are blaming Viber, Facebook Messenger, What's App and other over-the-top services," Zubiri said.
Telco executives told senators scammers can still use OTP messaging services even with deactivated SIM cards as long as they have registered with digital messaging applications prior to deadline.
Zubiri will invite GCash, PayMaya and money transfer service representatives as they should be strict with people using their services.
As for monkey photo that passed through SIM card registration, Gatchalian said it was disrespectful.
"There should be some form of post-validation if it's not automatic... we cannot allow horses, monkeys and gorillas to be registered," he concluded.
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