Prevalence of Use of Local SIM Cards for Scams following Enactment of Law Enforcement and Other Matters Act
Ministry of Digital Development and InformationSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns whether local SIM card scams have decreased following the passage of the Law Enforcement and Other Matters Bill and if restrictions on postpaid SIM cards per subscriber will be tightened. Minister Mrs Josephine Teo reported that scam calls and SMSes dropped by 19% and 65% respectively in 2025, with more than 105,000 scam-related lines disrupted through proactive enforcement. She noted that starting 30 December 2025, SIM card mules will face up to 12 strokes of caning and be prohibited from subscribing to new mobile lines. Furthermore, a 10-postpaid SIM card limit per person across all telcos will be implemented from 28 February 2026, alongside a common prefix for government calls to improve identification. Finally, the Government will continue to calibrate enforcement measures and may further adjust SIM card limits if necessary to deter those who enable scam activities.
Transcript
61 Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye asked the Minister for Digital Development and Information (a) whether the use of local SIM cards for scams has decreased since the Law Enforcement and Other Matters Bill was passed in Parliament on 2 April 2024; and (b) whether the Ministry intends to further restrict the maximum number of postpaid SIM cards per subscriber.
Mrs Josephine Teo: The number of scams featuring phone calls and SMSes as a first approach have decreased by 19% and 65% respectively from 2024 to 2025. This suggests that the new anti-scam measures and strengthening of enforcement action have been effective in mitigating the exploitation of SIM cards for scams.
To further deter SIM card offences, the Government has introduced enhanced penalties. With effect from 30 December 2025, scam mules who enable scammers by providing SIM cards will face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes. They will also not be able to subscribe to new mobile lines. In addition, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Government Technology Agency of Singapore, alongside the Singapore Police Force (SPF), are proactively detecting scam-related mobile lines, and disrupted more than 105,000 scam-related mobile lines across all the telcos in 2025.
More recently, IMDA together with SPF, tightened the SIM card registration rules such that a person can only register a maximum of 10 postpaid SIM cards across all telcos with effect from 28 February 2026. To further mitigate scams through the call channel, we are also implementing a common prefix for Government agencies' calls to enable citizens to easily identify and trust calls from the authorities.
The Government will continue calibrating our measures against the scam situation in Singapore, including adjusting the postpaid SIM card limit if required. The Government takes a serious stance against those who enable scammers by providing them tools for scams, such as SIM cards. Offenders will be dealt with severely under the law.