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Lawmaker Roy Chu Lap-wai has called for tighter limits and transfer bans on real-name registered SIM cards, noting the current system enables an individual to own up to 310 SIM cards in the city.
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His remarks came as the number of telephone scams remains high, despite the Real-name Registration Programme for Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) Cards having been launched three years ago.
The program allows an individual to register up to 10 prepaid SIM cards with each of the 31 active telecommunications operators in the city, while lacking regulation over the sale, rental, or transfer of these registered cards.
Chu pointed out that surveys indicate 90 percent of residents own only one to three SIM cards, while the government also proposed reducing the maximum number of SIM cards owned by each individual to three during a consultation with the Legislative Council last year.
He urged the government to expedite the legislative timetable and introduce amendments to prohibit the sale, rental, or transfer of registered SIM cards.
He also suggested that the government actively publicize the severe legal risks of lending registered SIM cards to others.
Chu believes this measure, which replicates anti-money laundering strategies that strictly ban citizens from lending bank accounts to fraudsters, would prove highly effective in curbing telephone fraud.
