The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) advised the public to be wary of fraudulent calls threatening SIM card suspension.
CICC Executive director Alexander Ramos said in a statement his office had received complaints related to an anonymous caller who would introduce herself as an employee of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and used the name Nikki Garcia in one case.
Ramos said during the conversation, the fake DICT employee or anonymous caller would inform the victim that his/her SIM was recommended for suspension for various violations.
“We are once again appealing to the public to ignore calls from suspicious or anonymous callers,“ Ramos said .
“Please be alert at all times and do not be deceived by people who pretend to be from DICT or any other government agency,” he said.
The registration of SIM or subscriber Identity Module was made mandatory under Republic Act No. 11934 which was enacted on Oct. 10, 2022 and took effect on Dec.27,2022.
The DICT said that as of July 30, 2023 or the final day after the five-day grace period, the number of SIMs registered reached 113,969,014 out of 168,016,400 SIM cards in circulation.
Ramos reiterated his appeal to the public to report cybercrime incidents to the Inter Agency Response Center Hotline 1326 to prevent cybercrime.
“By reporting to authorities, you are also helping other people by preventing them from becoming future victims,” he said.
