QUEZON CITY, (PIA) – The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) warns mobile phone users against selling their pre-registered SIM card to other individuals as this may be used in scams that would also implicate them in lawsuits.

 "Others (sellers) register [at least] 10 SIM cards in their name. What they may not know is that when we file a lawsuit because the SIM cards were used in fraud, they are included in the criminal case lawsuit," DICT Secretary Ivan Uy said during a recent Committee on Appropriations hearing at the House of Representatives, as he warned that sellers will be charged with criminal charges if ever their registered SIM cards are used in illegal activities.

 "If that SIM card is used for criminal activity then you will be liable for violation of either the cybercrime law or the e-commerce law that carries with it also the respective penalties as a cybercrime," he added.

 The DICT is also investigating some organized syndicates reportedly behind the use of pre-registered SIMs to scam people.

 The agency is probing how text scams are still happening despite the existence of the SIM Registration Act.

 Uy said there are criminal elements that buy pre-registered SIMs.

 It is also possible, he said, that each registered SIM card can fetch a seller up to P500.

 Uy warned these enterprising sellers and said that their registered SIMs, once used in scams, could also land them facing criminal charges.

 Meanwhile, there were also instances when SIMs were registered under the names of other people but were reportedly sold to other Filipinos and Chinese in the country.

 "You will be liable for falsification dahil nagpanggap kayo ng isang tao na hindi naman kayo ‘yun so that carries concomitant criminal penalty under the Revised Penal Code," Uy said.

DICT urged the public to report individuals or groups involved in registered SIM Card selling at the Inter-Agency Response Center at HOTLINE 1326.(pia-ncr)