SIM Registration May Be Extended Beyond April 26

The April 26 deadline for the ongoing SIM (subscriber identity module) card registration is a movable target date and the Department of Information and Communications Technology can opt to extend registration, the DICT said on Friday, Jan. 13.

DICT Undersecretary for public affairs and foreign relations Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo said the department can decide to extend the registration up to 120 days.

The DICT had earlier placed the deadline of the 120-day SIM card registration, which started Dec. 27, on April 26. If not registered by then, SIM cards can be deactivated by April 27, the department said.

The DICT said a total of 18,531,223 SIMs have already completed registration as of Jan 12, or 10.96 percent of the 169 million subscribers nationwide, based on National Telecommunications Commission records.

Smart Communications Inc. reported a total of 8,920,898 SIMs registered, which is 13.12 percent of Smart’s 67,995,734 subscribers.

Globe Telecom Inc. recorded 7,996,797 SIMs registered – 9.1 percent of its 87,873,936 subscribers.

Meanwhile, DITO Telecommunity Corp. reported a total of 1,613,528 SIMs registered, which is 12.3 percent of its 13,108,103 subscribers.

Lamentillo encouraged the public to register now and not wait for the deadline. She also said that the law ensures the protection of data that subscribers will provide during regis-tration.

The DICT constantly reminds the public to be vigilant as they complete the registration process, which can be done only through the official links of the telcos:

• SMART – smart.com.ph/simreg or simreg.smart.com.ph
• GLOBE – new.globe.com.ph/simreg
• DITO – https://digital.dito.ph/pto/download/app

For complaints and concerns related to SIM Registration, subscribers may contact the hotline 1326 or reach the DICT through 09477147105 (Smart), 09669765971 (Globe) or 09914814225 (DITO).

Blocked scams

PLDT Inc.’s wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. blocked more than 433 million messages that attempted to obtain sensitive information from its subscribers at the height of text scams in 2022.

Smart explained these messages often came with clickable links that, when accessed, lead to malicious websites where digital fraudsters steal sensitive data, usually bank details.

Likewise, Smart’s parent PLDT blocked over 17 billion attempts to open malicious domains that would have compromised the data privacy of its subscribers. PLDT has also black-listed at least 5.5 million websites that were used for fraudulent, phishing and spamming activities.

For 2022, PLDT and Smart fended off about 182 million incidents of cyberattack that had tried to breach the databases of residential and enterprise customers.

All in all, the Pangilinan-led telco used its intelligence sources to look into 123 million indicators of compromise in its system and track where a data breach would occur. – With additional reports from Elijah Felice Rosales