“The Roles of SIM Card Registration Act in Combatting

Cybercrimes Committed through SMS”

INTRODUCTION
The advent of cybercrime in the middle of the last century has been established which
resulted from the emergence and subsequent rapid expansion in popularity of computers and
subsequently cellphones. However, the cybercrime that exists nowadays differs greatly from
what it was in the early days. Today, the number of Internet-connected devices and services is
increasing, along with the number of users, contributing to the growing volume of cybercrimes
and the sophistication of their organization (Babanina, et al., 2021).
One of the many diverse kinds of cybercrimes is SMS fraud, sometimes known as SMS
scams or alternatively as Spam. Scammers in this area employ voice, SMS, and email to spread
socially engineered attack messages to a large audience in which they use a number of
techniques to make their messages seem official and trustworthy in order to trick consumers.
Lottery scam is one of the most prevalent kinds of SMS fraud wherein a fraudster sends a
message informing the recipient that he or she has won some money, and that the person must
contact a certain number to receive it. Once the victim calls back, the fraudster convinces the
victim that they must pay a fee to obtain the prize money. A payment is made by some
mechanism, but the prize money is never delivered (Pervaiz, et al., 2019). Phishing on the other
hand, is the deceptive practice of tricking an end-user into disclosing sensitive information to an
attacker online, such as passwords or credit account details, other personal information, or
sensitive financial data. SMiShing is an additional attack that is comparable to Phishing in which
the assault occurs in the form of text messages or short messaging services (SMS), not emails.
Further, the words "voice" and "phishing" are combined to form the name "Vishing". In this
case, the victim of a phone conversation is tricked into divulging personal information by the
assailant, who then intends to harm them (Yeboah-Boateng & Amanor, 2014).
In addition, SMS has recently been identified as a new method for the propagation of
spearphishing messages, which has already had a significant negative effect on real-world
economies and has emerged as a severe security issue. To get their attention and trick them into
clicking on URLs or calling additional contacts for further frauds, scammers would include
victims' exposed or leaked personal information into short messages. Accordingly, the frequent
use of smartphone connections compared to other routes raises the possibility that attackers
would gain relevant personal information about victims and subsequently swindle them (Liu, et
al., 2021). Furthermore, E-wallet deposit notification SMS Fraud has also been alarming the
public or the users who utilize mobile phones to make payments from their bank accounts to
other users' electronic wallet (e-wallet) accounts. In a typical scenario here, the fraudster gets the
mobile number of the m-banking customer through a website, a Facebook notice, or an
advertisement. The fraudster subsequently creates and sends to the m-banking customer a fake e-
wallet deposit notice SMS that seems to acknowledge the deposit of a specific amount.
Following up with a call or SMS, the scammer says they have accidentally deposited the amount
mentioned in the fake notification SMS into the user's e-wallet. The fraudster then requests that
the victim pay them back via an e-wallet. By simply demanding a portion of the return, the
fraudster may try to make it more acceptable for the consumer (Enkono & Suresh, 2020).
However, security communities in a general sense has not given this threat enough
attention, and people’s understanding of it is quite limited despite the significant negative effects
and possible hazards that are undoubtedly posed by these many cybercrimes conducted
specifically through SMS. The current situation of the Philippines, fraudulent SMS messages are
scattering continuously in which scammers have turned to various creative and detrimental
methods advancing to address their victims by their first names rather than just delivering a pre-
written message in an effort to deceive more (Mercado, 2022). It is a reason for concern when
incidents like the recent wave of text messages advertising fraudulent employment, rewards, and
similar deceiving messsages occur, especially when it infringes on people's privacy. The
National Telecommunications Commission, which is in charge of managing the affairs of the
nation's radio communications, telecommunications, and broadcast, including cable television
(CATV) facilities and services, has been warning cell phone users incessantly to completely
disregard messages that offer jobs, prizes, and other similar things and urging them to report
such incidents to the authority. 
Due to these contributing factors, the government of the Philippine had been advancing for
possible and effective method to combat these issues, hence, the implementation of Republic Act
No. 11934 or the SIM Card Registration Act which has been floating around for months now
until its official signing to become law on Oct. 10, 2022. This has come into existence to secure
the privacy of many Filipinos vulnerable to intrusion from unscrupulous people who are using
false personal data and narrative to either deceive or defraud individuals (Congress, 2022). In a
statement, Abalos Jr. (2002), said that the newly-implemented law is a welcome development in
fostering "accountability at all levels" in reducing electronic communication-aided criminal acts
that are being widely committed in anonymity. As well, the new law would enable the Philippine
National Police and other law enforcement agencies to quickly act on complaints and cases
involving mobile scams as they will be able to easily track offenders and resolve misconduct
involving telecommunication devices (Caliwan, 2022). The law’s logic is simple: Registration of
SIM cards unmasks fraudsters (Rivas, 2022).
In line for to the proliferation of personalized spam texts or messages harassing individuals
through their mobile phones, this paper then is conducted to look for the types of scams
committed through SMS especially in the Philippine setting and also to determine how the
newly-implemented Republic Act No. 11934 responds to the related SMS cybercrimes.
OBJECTIVES
The present study will be conducted in order to identify the nature and types of scams committed
through SMS and likewise to determine the functions and roles of the SIM Card Registration Act
on how it responds to combatting cybercrimes such as SMS Scams.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study is made with the aim of providing information and knowledge regarding the types of
scams committed through SMS which can help the general public to take precautionary and
preventive actions against these scam attacks. Furthermore, the study intends to furnish
recommendations or suggestions which would serve as an avenue for concerned agencies and
policy makers to implement actions and policies to curb any further exploitation by scammers.

METHOD
RESEARCH DESIGN
The study will utilize a pure qualitative of research which will be used to explore the types and
or the nature of scams committed through SMS coming from the reports of police stations,
Cybercrime Division, Telecommunication Companies, and the Department of Information and
Communications Technology. Additionally, Informant Interview will also be employed to
understand the provisions of Republic Act No. 11934.
LOCALE OF THE STUDY
This study will be conducted in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, which composed of 49 barangays.
RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
The current study will adopt a Document or Content Analysis research instrument to analyze and
evaluate the type of scams committed through SMS from public records coming from concerned
agencies as well as personal documents coming from victims of SMS scams.
DATA GATHERING PROCEDURE
To gather the data essential to complete the study, the researchers will submit a Letter of
Approval and Letter of Permission to police stations, Cybercrime Division, Telecommunication
Companies, and the Department of Information and Communications Technology to collect their
reports of scams committed through SMS filed by the victims. The data gathered from the
mentioned concerned agencies will be analyzed to determine the type of scams committed
through SMS.