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.SINGAPORE: A new law was passed in parliament on Tuesday that will allow authorities to target three groups of people who misuse local SIM cards to facilitate scams.
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 . 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.
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. "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.
In response, Mrs Teo said the police have been working with such platforms to take down accounts involved in scams and other crimes.