Scammers in Hanoi are stealing SIM cards of returning Vietnamese migrant workers and Taiwanese tourists to commit fraud, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said.
Perpetrators pose as vendors to sell fake Vietnamese SIM cards near Noi Bai International Airport, and then offer to help the buyer install the “card,” during which they would steal the Taiwanese SIM, the bureau’s Anti-Fraud Center said.
Organized crime, especially those involved in telecom fraud, have an insatiable appetite for stolen SIM cards, which could be used in burner phones, it added.
Photo copied by Chiu Chun-fu, Taipei Times
Since April, 38 people have reported that after returning to Taiwan, they found fake SIM cards in their devices and their phone numbers suspended after being used in fraudulent activities, the center said.
Investigations found that most of the victims were Vietnamese nationals wed to Taiwanese, and that the scammers had gained access to the phones by selling SIM cards near the airport, the center said.
Taiwan has tightened security measures aimed at preventing telecom fraud, including requiring SIM card buyers to present two identification cards to complete the purchase, making it harder for scammers to acquire phone numbers, it said.
Any phone number associated with telecom fraud would be suspended, the center said, citing amendments to the Fraud Crime Hazard Prevention Act (詐欺犯罪危害防制條例).
Owners of those numbers would also be placed on an anti-fraud watchlist, it added.
While telecom companies currently allow subscribers to own two phone numbers, people on the watchlist are permitted to have only one, the center said.
Police are working with telecom providers to stop people on the watchlist from getting more phone numbers, it said.
Fraudsters typically trick people into allowing them access to their phones through phishing tactics, including fake job offers, mortgage loans or investment groups operating on the Line app, the center said.
Armed with the SIM of an unwitting victim, scammers are often able to throw off police investigations by creating a gap in the digital paper trail, it said in a call for the public to be wary of telecom fraud.
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