Fake bookings with delivery riders are the reason why the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is pushing for the registration of prepaid sim cards, which are used by fraudsters.
“Kung hindi registered, hindi ma-trace kung sino ang mga tumatawag eh. Ito ‘yong isang paraan na nakikita namin para mabawasan or maisawan talaga ‘yong problema na nangyayari ngayon,” said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.
Lemuel Balang has been a delivery rider for two years and was once fooled into delivering items.
The sender allegedly just met with Balang in Parañaque and he had to pay for the items worth P3,800.
“Sabi mga branded na sumbrero tapos may pinakitang picture, ‘yong laman non,” said Balang.
But when he arrived at the address given by the alleged receiver in Manila, Balang found out that the sender had scammed him. When he opened the box, it turned out to be full of broken hats.
“Nanlumo ako kasi ‘yong P3,800 pinaghirapan ko po ‘yon eh. Hindi naman po madaling kitain ‘yong ganoong kalaking pera,” he said.
Mike Anthony Nebres has been the victim of “fake booking” four times, most recently in March when he delivered food in Caloocan.
Sim card registration pushed following scams on delivery riders
“Pagdating ko doon, siguro mga 30 minutes ako tawag, text, hindi talaga sumasagot,” he said, adding he had to pay P500 from his own pocket.
In a statement, Globe said they support sim card registration because it will help their digital transformation and prevent online frauds.
But there should be a smooth process of getting subscribers’ information, the Globe said.
Sim card registration is also welcome for Smart Communications as it will also help boost e-commerce among other benefits.
But they should study more about how the registration process will be, especially in the marginalized sectors.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology also said in a statement that they support sim card registration to prevent online fraud.
It all depends on the bill that mandates public telecommunications entities to register all buyers of sim cards, where some subscriber information is.
But due to the issue of data privacy, it has been pending in plenary since December 2019.
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