Letters | Telecoms watchdog and police are actively combating phone scams

Readers discuss the measures being taken to tackle fraudulent calls, and Transport Department queues during the travel season

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A police display of smartphones and other evidence gathered as part of an anti-deception operation. Photo: Handout

Published: 11:30am, 10 Jul 2023

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The Office of the Communications Authority would like to respond to the letter, “Registering numbers has not ended fraud”, published on July 1.

Any form of deception is a serious criminal offence and enforcement action will be undertaken by the police.

Under the Real-name Registration Programme for SIM Cards, real-name registration must be completed before service activation for all SIM cards issued and used locally, to plug the loophole that arose in the past from the anonymous nature of prepaid SIM cards used in conducting illegal activities. The programme is one of the means of assisting the police in investigating crimes relating to the use of local mobile services.

Ofca has been working with telecommunications operators to ensure the programme is effectively implemented through sample checks and verification of suspicious prepaid SIM cards.

In fact, suspicious records reported by operators had successfully assisted the police in cracking down on a phone scam syndicate in April.

To strengthen the work of combating fraudulent calls, Ofca, police and major operators have established a working group to devise and implement feasible measures.