Post by : Meena Ariff

The Hong Kong government has announced a plan to reduce the number of prepaid SIM cards a person can register. At present, each person can register up to 10 prepaid SIM cards with a single telecom company under their name. But under the new proposal, this will be reduced to just three prepaid SIM cards per person per company.

This plan was explained in a paper submitted to the Legislative Council on Tuesday. The lawmakers will discuss and examine these changes next year. The main reason behind this proposal is the increasing number of phone scams and fraud cases happening in Hong Kong. Criminals often use prepaid SIM cards because they are cheap, easy to buy, and difficult to trace.

Why is the government proposing this change?

Authorities said that many phone scammers buy multiple prepaid SIM cards registered under fake names or other people’s information. They use these cards to call and trick people into giving them money or personal information. By limiting the number of prepaid SIM cards each person can have, the government hopes to make it harder for scammers to operate.

Under the proposed new law, if someone is found using a SIM card registered under another person’s name without permission, they could face strict punishment. The penalty could be a fine of up to HK$25,000 (around US$3,184) or jail for up to one year.

The government said this new rule will not only punish the people who use SIM cards illegally but will also target those who give their personal information to others to register SIM cards. It will also punish those who buy or sell SIM cards that are already registered under someone else’s name.

What happens if someone has many SIM cards under other people’s names?

According to the new proposal, if someone is found with 10 or more prepaid SIM cards registered under different people’s names without a proper reason, they will be treated as if they plan to use these cards for illegal activities, such as scams or fraud.

As of May this year, there are 29 telecom companies in Hong Kong that are allowed to sell prepaid SIM cards. Even if the new limit is introduced, a person can still have many SIM cards if they register with different companies. Under the new proposal, one person can have up to 87 prepaid SIM cards if they register three cards with each of the 29 telecom companies. However, this is very rare, as most people do not need so many cards.

Background of SIM card registration in Hong Kong

This proposal comes four years after Hong Kong started the real-name SIM card registration system in September 2021. Under this system, anyone who buys a SIM card must register their name, date of birth, and ID card number with the telecom company. This was introduced to reduce crime and improve security, but scammers still found ways to misuse SIM cards by using fake or stolen personal information.

Under current rules, an individual can register up to 10 prepaid SIM cards with each telecom company, and companies can register up to 25 prepaid SIM cards with each provider. There is no upper limit for normal monthly SIM service plan cards, which are postpaid and require proof of identity and address.

The government explains why the change is needed.

The government checked data from telecom companies in March this year. They found that almost 90% of prepaid SIM card users only use one to three cards registered under their own Hong Kong ID card or other identification documents. This means that reducing the limit to three cards will not affect most people but will stop criminals from buying and using large numbers of cards.

They said, “This measure will help reduce the risks of prepaid SIM cards being used for bad activities while causing very little impact on normal users. Considering that there is no limit on the number of postpaid SIM service plan cards, this proposal will still meet the needs of individual users.”

Departments involved in the proposal

This new proposal was created with the cooperation of many government departments, including:

• Commerce and Economic Development Bureau
• Security Bureau
• Office of the Communications Authority
• Hong Kong Police Force

They all believe that the new rules will help to protect people in Hong Kong from phone scams and make it harder for criminals to carry out illegal activities using prepaid SIM cards.