FACT CHECK: Facebook posts contain fake SIM registration links

Claim: A Facebook post contains links to telecommunications providers’ SIM card registration websites. 

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The post containing the claim was posted on May 4 in a Facebook group with 7,700 members. The same claim was reposted on May 10 in the public Facebook group named “SIM CARD REGISTRATION” with 5,500 members. 

The post reads: “Sa mga bagong biling SIM at hindi pa nakaregister na SIM, magregister na kayo dito. Huwag niyo pong ibibigay ang mga OTP niyo kahit kanino, madali lang po mag-register. Sundan lang link.”

(To all those with newly-bought SIMs and unregistered SIMs, register here now. Don’t give your [one-time password] to anyone, it’s easy to register. Just follow the link.)

The post then provides links to supposed SIM card registration portals of telco providers such as Smart, Globe, and DITO.

The facts: Rappler has already debunked these misleading posts in a fact check in 2023.  

None of the links in the Facebook posts redirect to the official telco SIM card registration pages but to blogging sites. The blog sites contain the same information along with new links to purported registration sites, this time leading to websites full of advertisements instead of the actual telco registration portals. 

SIM registration: In 2022, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the SIM Card Registration Act, which requires Filipinos to register their SIM cards using any government-issued identification. New SIMs are also deactivated by default, and can only be activated by registration.

The move is supposedly intended to block and catch scammers and other criminals. Various groups, however, have opposed the law over privacy concerns. 

Registration links: Here are the official websites where telco subscribers can register their SIM cards: Globe/TM, Smart/TNT, and DITO. – Ailla Dela Cruz/Rappler.com

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.