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Solons grill Globe after ID with cat photo used for SIM card registration

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Willard Cheng

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA -- Lawmakers grilled the representatives of Globe Telecom on Tuesday after National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) officials revealed that they were able to register Globe SIMs using a fake PhilHealth ID with the photo of a cat.</p><p>At the hearing of the House Committee on Information and Communications Technology, NBI Cybercrime Division chief Atty. Jeremy Lontoc showed how they were able to do this just last week. He also shared that they used blank documents as identification documents in the registration. </p><p>Lotoc expressed dismay that lessons were not learned a year after it was shown in a Senate hearing how a SIM card was able to be registered <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFcEDSMXfKI">using a fake PhilHealth ID with a photo of a smiling monkey</a>.</p><p>Globe lawyer Atty. Ariel Tubayan said there is a system in place to validate and detect dubious registrations, and that there may have just been a “time lag” in the deactivation process, including the sending of SMS to the end user requiring him to update details. </p><p>Tubayan said a SIM registered using questionable means will be deactivated within a &quot;time period.&quot; </p><p>Lotoc, however, said the SIM they registered had yet to be deactivated.</p><p>“Actually bago ho ako pumunta dito Your Honor tina-try ko munang i-text using that number. Gumana po siya,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;Hindi na katanggap tanggap yung excuse e. &#x27;Di ba dapat gawin ng Globe lahat ng pwede nilang gawin para check ang ganitong bagay?&quot; Pasig Representative Roman Romulo asked.</p><p>Meanwhile, Smart and Dito said they have put stricter measures to prohibit dubious SIM registrations, such as the conduct of live selfies and optical character recognition. </p><p>Lotoc agreed Smart’s system is more secure, saying the NBI also tried registering SIMs using the fake IDs but the system rejected it. </p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/22/23/ntc-orders-live-selfies-vs-monkey-sim-registrations" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NTC orders use of tech, live selfies to prevent &#x27;monkey&#x27; SIM card registrations</a></div><p>&quot;Yung security ng Smart mas maganda po, hindi ho tinatanggap yung mga ganun…in fact, ang system nag rerequire, may movement ng mata,&quot; he related.</p><p>&quot;So mas secure ho ang system ng Smart insofar as nag try ho kami,&quot; he explained.</p><p>The NTC said a show cause order had already been issued against Globe on August 13 to address these SIM registration issues for possible violations of the implementing rules and regulations.</p><p>Lotoc also complained that Globe declined to provide data regarding the internet protocol used by the threat actor behind a bomb threat in the airport last year.</p><p>Lotoc said the NBI is considering filing a case against Globe under RA 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act and obstruction of justice, and that the NBI legal team is now trying to finish a draft of the complaint. </p><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QWtZAh4NYfM?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Lawmakers grilled the representatives of Globe Telecom after NBI officials revealed that they were able to register Globe SIMs using a fake PhilHealth ID with the photo of a cat.</p>

Lawmakers grilled the representatives of Globe Telecom after NBI officials revealed that they were able to register Globe SIMs using a fake PhilHealth ID with the photo of a cat.