(kontumtv.vn) – According to the Department of Telecommunications, there are still agents circumventing the law to pre-activate SIMs. The Department of Telecommunications also recorded the phenomenon of selling tourist SIMs and data SIMs used for short-term data access that do not strictly comply 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 inspect subscriber information, spam SIMs, spam messages, and content services (VAS); of which, 5 teams inspected VAS, 92 teams inspected spam SIMs; issued 75 penalty decisions, of which the penalty for VAS was 1.85 billion VND; recovered 6.9 billion VND; and the penalty for spam SIMs was 5.6 billion VND.

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There is still a situation where agents pre-activate junk SIMs.

Mr. Giang Van Thang, Head of the Inspection Department of the Telecommunications Department, said that the Department directly surveyed the SIM market in two major areas, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, along with online purchases. The results showed that since tightening management, the situation of junk SIMs has decreased significantly. However, there is still a phenomenon of agents circumventing the law to activate SIMs in advance. The Telecommunications Department also recorded the phenomenon of selling tourist SIMs and data SIMs used for short-term data access that do not strictly comply with the law on subscriber information management. In some countries, this type of SIM does not require subscriber information registration, but according to current regulations in Vietnam, tourist SIMs still require subscriber information registration.

The Department of Telecommunications added that in 2024, the Department conducted inspections and audits of 6 mobile telecommunications service providers. The inspections and audits showed that there were still cases of mobile telecommunications employees evading and violating regulations due to sales and income pressure. The Department of Telecommunications has completed the implementation of brandname (identification name) for calls from state management agencies. The Department will continue to implement brandname and require businesses to develop criteria to prevent spam messages and block spam calls.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Chung, Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Information and Communications, said that the management and prevention of spam messages, spam calls and especially online scams are increasingly difficult and challenging. According to statistics, in 2023, the total amount of money that people were scammed and appropriated in cyberspace was from 8,000 to 10,000 billion VND, a significant increase compared to previous years, of which 91% of information was related to the financial sector and 73% of mobile device and social network users.

“The use of telecommunications networks to appropriate assets is taking place strongly and has become a much larger trend than other tools and means. Notably, currently, scam calls and spam calls that previously focused on the elderly, retirees, children, and retired officials are now targeting working people and even government leaders and businessmen. Current forms of fraud are very sophisticated and complicated. In addition to traditional fraud methods, scammers use AI technology, fake voices and phone numbers, and even script each individual to increase the possibility of appropriating assets,” said Mr. Nguyen Thanh Chung.

HL/Newspaper