(kontumtv.vn) – According to the Telecommunications Department, there are still instances of agents circumventing the law to pre-activate SIM cards. The Telecommunications Department also notes the phenomenon of selling tourist SIM cards and data SIM cards for short-term data access without strictly complying with the law on subscriber information management.

According to the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), in 2023-2024, the MIC sector deployed 97 inspection teams to examine subscriber information, junk SIMs, spam messages, and content services (VAS); of which, 5 teams inspected VAS, and 92 teams inspected junk SIMs; issued 75 penalty decisions, including 1.85 billion VND in penalties for VAS violations; recovered 6.9 billion VND; and 5.6 billion VND in penalties for junk SIMs.

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The practice of dealers activating unregistered SIM cards in advance still persists.

Mr. Giang Van Thang, Head of the Inspection Department of the Telecommunications Authority, said that the Authority had directly surveyed the SIM card market in two major areas, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as online purchases. The results showed that since stricter management, the number of unregistered SIM cards has decreased significantly. However, there are still instances of dealers circumventing the law to pre-activate SIM cards. The Telecommunications Authority also noted the sale of tourist SIM cards and data SIM cards for short-term data access that do not strictly comply with the law on subscriber information management. In some countries, these types of SIM cards do not require subscriber information registration, but according to current Vietnamese regulations, tourist SIM cards still require subscriber information registration.

The Department of Telecommunications further stated that in 2024, it conducted inspections of six mobile telecommunications service providers. The inspections revealed that employees of these companies still circumvent and violate regulations due to sales and income pressure. The Department of Telecommunications has completed the implementation of brand names (identifiers) for calls from state management agencies. The Department will continue to implement brand name implementation and require businesses to develop criteria to prevent spam messages and calls.

According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Chung, Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Information and Communications, managing and preventing spam messages, spam calls, and especially online scams is becoming increasingly difficult and challenging. Statistics show that in 2023, the total amount of money lost to online scams and fraud was between 8,000 and 10,000 billion VND, a significant increase compared to previous years. Of this amount, 91% involved financial information, and 73% involved mobile device and social media users.

“The exploitation of telecommunications networks to steal assets is rampant and has become a much larger trend than other tools and means. Notably, while scam calls and spam calls previously targeted the elderly, retirees, children, and retired officials, they now target working people, government leaders, and businesspeople. Current scam methods are very sophisticated and complex. Besides traditional methods, scammers are using AI technology, voice and phone number spoofing, and even scripting individual scenarios to increase their chances of stealing assets,” said Mr. Nguyen Thanh Chung.

HL/News Report