It is quite alarming to note that, in light of the SIM Registration Act, prepaid customers are selling their SIMs, with their name, address, picture and ID to boot.
Based on talk on the street, such SIMs are bought and sold for only P500 and, if it is registered with GCash, for P700.Such SIMs or e-wallet accounts are then used by criminal elements either to extort money, or to be used in scams. Similarly, banks and other social media platforms are plagued by scammers, taking over and stealing the accounts of their subscribers.
Police authorities often face a blank wall when they have to apprehend the half-wit of a registered owner of the SIM or the e-wallet account in question, as the identities of the real culprits safely tucked away.
These people who sell their digital identities are the “mules”, and it is only when facing the law that the mule realizes his credulity — and the gravity of what he faces in exchange for only a few hundred pesos.
Because the criminal mind is complex, this mule has no way of tracing the real buyer of his SIM and is unable to help the police to track the criminals. Though the mule may, at first glance, be a victim himself, he is still an enabler and must therefore be subject to certain legal consequences.
The good news is that the Anti-Money Mule bill which penalizes the mule and the person taking over his account has been passed on second reading by the Senate. Expect that this bill, which was also passed by the House will become a law before Congress ends next year.
Though the mule will face a harsh six years and one day up to 12 years in prison if found guilty, the account user will get one degree higher in penalty.
Depending on the facts of the case, the credulous mule may get some reduction in prison years and fine on account of certain mitigating circumstances. But on the contrary, if the mule that was fully aware that he was selling or transferring his identity for criminal means, he must receive the full brunt of the law.
Thus, it is for the telcos, the e-wallets, banks and other financial institutions to help the government in disseminating and educating the public about the evils of selling one’s personal accounts and the criminal liabilities attached to it.
Of course, let’s not forget the third party in the equation: the victim of the scam or extortion or the person that actually lost the cash.
Through the digital revolution, financial transactions and transmission of messages are now being done online, contributing immensely to financial inclusion and ease of doing things.
But we still have a hapless majority of the population that may lack the savvy of understanding how valuable one’s digital identity is, and how vigilant they must be with passwords and OTPs. This is the spirit of the Anti-Money Mule bill that seeks to protect.
I concur, Your Honor.
(The author is the General Counsel of the Globe Group and is President of the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunication Operators. Mules give him headaches.)
Atty. Castelo is the Group General Counsel of the Globe Group and the president of the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunications Operators.
