Singapore passes new law targeting the sale and misuse of local SIM cards for scams
The intent is not to penalise those who give away SIM cards for legitimate purposes, such as those who register SIM cards in their names for family members' use, says Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo.
SIM cards. (File photo: iStock)
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SINGAPORE: A new law was passed in parliament on Tuesday (Apr 2) that will allow authorities to target three groups of people who misuse local SIM cards to facilitate scams.
The three categories listed in the Law Enforcement and Other Matters Bill are "irresponsible subscribers", middlemen who procure or provide SIM cards to scammers and errant retailers who use stolen or false credentials to register SIM cards which are sold to scammers.
Police have faced difficulties in prosecuting the first two groups because they needed to prove knowledge or criminal intent, but the new law means a person could be liable in certain scenarios, without the prosecution having to prove so, said Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo.
But the intent is not to penalise those who give away SIM cards for legitimate purposes, she said, citing the example of people who register SIM cards in their names for family members' use.
Most retailers also do not need to be concerned, said Mrs Teo, who is also Minister for Communications and Information.
“Every SIM card in the hands of a scammer is a weapon,” said Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo in Parliament on Tuesday (Apr 2). She elaborated on how scammers have pivoted to using local SIM cards to reach prospective victims after being thwarted by measures such as blocking overseas calls that spoof local numbers and introducing the SMS Sender ID Registry. So, new offences are being introduced to target three groups of people who misuse local SIM cards to facilitate scams. The first group is irresponsible subscribers who give away their local SIM cards or provide their particulars to others to be used to sign up for local SIM cards. To address the challenge that the police face in proving knowledge or criminal intent, an irresponsible subscriber will be deemed liable in the following scenarios - they gave away their card for any gain, did not take reasonable steps to find out the identity and physical location of the recipient, or did not take reasonable steps to find out the recipient’s purpose for obtaining the card. The second group is middlemen involved in procuring or providing local SIM cards to scam syndicates. The police have also faced difficulties prosecuting such middlemen as it is hard to prove that they intended to abet an offence. A person who receives, supplies or possesses such local SIM cards may now be deemed liable without the prosecution having to prove knowledge or criminal intent if the cards were used for crime, or 11 or more cards were found in their possession. Criminal intent will also not have to be proven in cases of people buying, selling or renting a local SIM card registered with another person’s particulars. The third group is errant retailers, a small number of whom have used stolen or false credentials to register local SIM cards, which are then sold to scammers. There is currently no offence that specifically deals with such retailers and they might simply lose their contract with the mobile service provider. Making it a criminal offence will allow heavier punishment, including prison sentences, for employees involved in fraudulent registrations. The penalties for the new SIM card offences will be pegged to those for the misuse of Singpass credentials under the Computer Misuse Act. Changes to the law will also be made to allow the transmission of false messages for certain legitimate purposes, such as simulated phishing exercises to enhance awareness and vigilance against scams. Mrs Teo outlined other amendments being proposed. One is to allow the police to apprehend, not arrest, a person with a mental health condition who poses a danger to themselves or others, to take them for medical treatment - even if the timeframe of the danger is unspecified or not imminent. Another enables the police to not take further action for non-arrestable offences if the case is not serious or there are insufficient grounds to proceed.
THREE GROUPS OF OFFENDERS
Irresponsible subscribers or registrants are people who give away their SIM cards or let other people use their particulars to sign up for SIM cards.
"Often, they do so to earn a quick buck," said Mrs Teo.
Current laws require the police to prove that the irresponsible subscribers knowingly gave away their SIM cards for unlawful purposes.Â
With the new law, a person will be liable if they give away a SIM card registered with their particulars or allow their particulars to be used to sign up for one, despite knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that the SIM card would be used for unlawful purposes.
Subscribers will also be liable if they give away a SIM card for any gain, did not take reasonable steps to find out the identity and location of the recipient or did not take reasonable steps to find out why the recipient wanted a local SIM card.
Offenders can be fined up to S$10,000 (US$7,390), jailed for up to three years or both.
The second group targeted by the new law is middlemen who receive or possess local SIM cards with the intent to use or supply them for unlawful purposes.
Those who supply SIM cards knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that they would be used for unlawful purposes will also be liable for offences.
Prosecutors will not have to prove knowledge or criminal intent if the local SIM cards were used for crime, or if 11 or more local SIM cards were found in the possession of the middleman.Â
They also do not need to prove criminal intent for people who buy, sell or rent a local SIM card registered with another person's particulars.
The third group is errant retailers.
Mobile service providers are required to implement measures to prevent fraudulent registration of SIM cards. These measures include verifying the identity of subscribers by checking their original IDs and scanning IDs instead of manually keying in the subscribers' particulars.
A number of retailers have used stolen or false credentials to register SIM cards, which they then sell to scammers.
A study of about 1,400 local SIM cards used in scams in the second half of last year found that 65 per cent of such SIM cards were sold by nine retailers.
"Such errant retailers should be held accountable. Not only do they tarnish the reputation of their peers, their actions cause many victims to suffer losses," said Mrs Teo.
Offenders who receive, supply and possess local SIM cards or facilitate fraudulent registration of local SIM cards can be fined up to S$10,000, jailed for up to three years, or both, for a first offence.
For second or subsequent offences, the penalty may be a fine of up to S$20,000, imprisonment of up to five years, or both.
Corporations and unincorporated associations such as partnerships and societies can be fined up to twice the maximum amount for individuals.
QUESTIONS FROM MPS
Member of Parliament (MP) Desmond Choo (PAP-Tampines) asked whether the Ministry of Home Affairs was working with online platforms, such as Telegram, where local SIM cards are bought and sold.
In response, Mrs Teo said the police have been working with such platforms to take down accounts involved in scams and other crimes.
However, it is currently not a crime to buy or sell second-hand SIM cards, so there are no legal grounds to request such platforms to take down accounts involved in the sales of SIM cards.
"Once the new offences come into force, and the second-hand sale of local SIM cards becomes illegal, we will consider issuing directions under the Online Criminal Harms Act to the platforms to require them to restrict access to accounts involved," she said.
In Parliament on Tuesday (Apr 2), Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo responded to clarifications sought by Members of the House on the Law Enforcement and Other Matters Bill. The Bill was then passed.
MP Yip Hon Weng (PAP-Yio Chu Kang) raised concerns about a possible scenario where an elderly person's particulars are misused by family members or caregivers.
Mrs Teo said the elderly person would not be liable for an offence if the police find that he or she has no reasonable grounds to believe that their particulars would be used to register for SIM cards.Â
"The police recognise that there are indeed situations where elderly might have been tricked into sharing their particulars," she said.
"The police will investigate such cases comprehensively and consider any credible evidence that the elderly person was unaware about how his particulars would be used."
YELLOW RIBBON SYMBOLS MISUSED
The minister also spoke about how Yellow Ribbon Singapore's symbols - which are registered trademarks used to galvanise society to support the reintegration of ex-offenders - have been misused by individuals selling merchandise or going door-to-door asking for donations, under the guise of supporting ex-offenders.
Under the new law, the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises Act will be amended to give Yellow Ribbon Singapore the exclusive rights to use its symbols.
Those who misuse the symbols can be fined up to S$10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.
In the case of a continuing offence, the offender could be fined up to S$250 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.
