The number of phone scams in Hong Kong has tripled since a real-name SIM card registration system was implemented in 2022, despite the government’s claim that it would help crack down on frau…
Hong Kong has also proposed new offences under the real-name registration system to criminalise the improper use of SIMs registered in another person’s name
Reading the article, I don’t think they’re trying to imply what is suggested by the headline, ie. that the real-name registration system is being abused somehow to scam people.
Rather it’s an article pointing out that the real-name registration system did not help to combat the already rising number of scams, which was the reason that the government gave for passing the law.
It doesn’t seem to be phone-specific either:
Hong Kong has seen a sharp increase in overall scam-related crime figures in recent years. Between 2020 and 2024, the number of scams reported to police almost tripled.
It’s a useful data point to argue against any similar initiatives in other countries, where they may use the same reasoning to justify the law. It doesn’t seem to make a difference, as criminals will always find a way regardless of the hoops that you make law-abiding citizens jump through.
In my country you have to registers SIMs with your real id/name, however criminals just use stolen SIMs hehe
The other day a neighbor of mine got a new phone and asked me to do the start configuration, create Google Acc, download Facebook, TikTok, Whatsapp and crap like that, she had all of that in her previous phone, but she traded it and didn’t remove the SIM card and thought it was a less of hassle creating a new acc for everything and registering a new SIM in her name than simply keeping her SIM and writing down her email addresses and passwords… and I believe a large portion of our population operates like that, absolutely barbaric.
How?
Is no id card required for registration?
Fake passport, fake id card, employees at a selling point activating a bunch with junk data and selling those themselves.
Reading the article, I don’t think they’re trying to imply what is suggested by the headline, ie. that the real-name registration system is being abused somehow to scam people.
Rather it’s an article pointing out that the real-name registration system did not help to combat the already rising number of scams, which was the reason that the government gave for passing the law.
It doesn’t seem to be phone-specific either:
It’s a useful data point to argue against any similar initiatives in other countries, where they may use the same reasoning to justify the law. It doesn’t seem to make a difference, as criminals will always find a way regardless of the hoops that you make law-abiding citizens jump through.
More likely Jane registers a SIM using her ID. She then sells it to Sally, who uses it to scam people online.
That would be my reading of that sentence. I’m just not clear if they propose to criminalise both Jane‘s and Sally‘s acts.
In my country you have to registers SIMs with your real id/name, however criminals just use stolen SIMs hehe
The other day a neighbor of mine got a new phone and asked me to do the start configuration, create Google Acc, download Facebook, TikTok, Whatsapp and crap like that, she had all of that in her previous phone, but she traded it and didn’t remove the SIM card and thought it was a less of hassle creating a new acc for everything and registering a new SIM in her name than simply keeping her SIM and writing down her email addresses and passwords… and I believe a large portion of our population operates like that, absolutely barbaric.