UK to ban 'sim farms' used by scammers to send mass fraud messages
LONDON: SIM farm devices capable of holding multiple SIM cards enabling scammers to send thousands of scam text messages at once are to be banned under UK government plans to crack down on fraud.
The ban, the first of its kind in Europe, will make the possession or supply of the devices without good reason illegal, with unlimited fines in England and Wales and a £5,000 (RM29,098 or US$6,600) fine in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The government said the devices are used by criminals to hold multiple SIM cards, which as well as allowing scammers to send out thousands of messages to people at the same time, can also be used to create verified accounts on social media and other platforms in large volumes.
The UK Home Office said recent data showed fraud had increased last year by 19%, and now accounts for more than 40% of all reported crime in England and Wales.
UK Fraud Minister David Hanson said: "Fraud devastates lives, and I am determined to take the decisive action necessary to protect the public from these shameful criminals.
"Two-thirds of British adults say they've received a suspicious message on their phone – equivalent to more than 35 million people – which is why cracking down on SIM farms is so vital to protecting the public.
"This marks a leap forward in our fight against fraud and will provide law enforcement and industry partners with the clarity they need to protect the public from this shameful crime.
"This Government will continue to take robust action to protect the public from fraud and deliver security and resilience through the Plan for Change."
Nick Sharp, deputy director for fraud at the National Crime Agency (NCA), said: "Fraud is the crime we are all most likely to experience, and one that causes victims significant emotional and financial harm.
"We know that fraud at scale is being facilitated by SIM farms, which give criminals a means and an opportunity to contact victims at scale with relative ease.
"The ban announced today is very welcome. It will give us a vital tool to step up our fight against fraudsters, target the services they rely on, and better protect the public."
The government said the new ban will come into effect six months after the Crime and Policing Bill receives royal assent.
Scam text messages have become an increasingly common problem in recent years, with mobile operators regularly introducing new technology to help spot and block them before they reach the public.
Rachel Andrews, head of corporate security at Vodafone UK, said the ban on SIM farms was an "important step" in preventing fraud.
"Vodafone UK is committed to protecting all our customers from fraud, including activity enabled by SIM farms," she said.
"So far this year we have blocked over 38.5 million suspected scam messages, and in 2024 that figure reached over 73.5 million for the year.
"As an industry, UK telecoms operators have blocked more than one billion suspected scam messages since 2023.
"However, we cannot fully tackle fraud in isolation; collaboration between industry and government is crucial.
"This is a really important step taken by the Home Office and we fully support the inclusion of SIM farms in the upcoming legislation.
"We look forward to working together on this issue."
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: "We welcome this move but let's not pretend Labour led the charge. This builds directly on the work the Conservatives did last year to crack down on SIM farms through the Criminal Justice Bill.
"These devices are the weapon of choice for fraudsters. We acted to close that loophole, and it's right that Labour are finally scrambling to catch up.
"Enforcement is now key, as criminals will always look for new ways to abuse the system. Ministers must ensure this legislation is watertight, or it risks being a ban in name only." – dpa
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
MPs back foreign investors owning minority stakes in UK newspapers
LONDON: Foreign investors have stepped closer to buying part of the British newspaper The Telegraph, as members of parliament (MPs) backed relaxed laws on foreign ownership of UK newspapers that will allow them to own up to 15 per cent. The Commons voted overwhelmingly in favour of a change to the law by Labour, which would allow foreign firms to buy minority stakes. It is the latest turn in a tumultuous two-year takeover process for the 170-year-old newspaper business. It comes after the previous Conservative government put a block in place amid fears the Telegraph could be bought by a majority-owned UAE company, RedBird IMI. The investment vehicle is a joint venture with US financiers. The regulation was approved by 338 votes to 79, majority 259. Labour was boosted in the voting lobbies by four far-right Reform UK MPs, including its leader Nigel Farage, and seven Independent MPs. Meanwhile, former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, a vocal critic of China, was among those to vote against it. The Liberal Democrats, who forced the vote over fears foreign ownership would compromise editorial independence, also opposed it. The result will give the green light to RedBird IMI, with the cap in place now being supported by MPs. RedBird Capital, the US junior partner in RedBird IMI, agreed a deal in May to buy a majority stake in the newspaper for £500 million (US$683 million). Abu Dhabi's IMI will look to buy a minority stake as part of the consortium. RedBird has investments in AC Milan, film production giant Skydance and Liverpool FC owner Fenway Sports Group. It is also understood that the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), which owns the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, the i, and the Metro, is also looking to buy a stake. This is in addition to Len Blavatnik, who owns the Theatre Royal Haymarket in the West End, who is considering a minority stake, according to Sky News reports. The rules were introduced after RedBird IMI looked to buy the Telegraph Media Group (TMG) from the Barclay Brothers. Former Conservative culture secretary Lucy Frazer told a Society of Editors Conference in April 2024: "I had concerns about the potential impacts of this deal on free expression and accurate presentation of news, and that's why I issued a public interest intervention." Culture Minister Stephanie Peacock told MPs last month that appropriate safeguards had been introduced. She said: "The Government need to balance the importance of creating certainty and sustainability for our newspaper industry with the need to protect against the risk of foreign state influence by setting a clear threshold for exceptions within the regime at 15 per cent. We believe that we have done that effectively." Speaking after the vote, the Liberal Democrats' spokesman on media, Max Wilkinson, said: "Freedom of the press is a historic and inviolable cornerstone of our democracy. That the government is pushing to sell off stakes in our British papers to foreign governments is astonishing. "It's outrageous that Labour and the Conservative MPs failed to stand up, do their patriotic duty and block this legislation. The leader of the opposition sponsored the Bill that restricted foreign states owning British newspapers last year — yet even she failed to vote against the measure. "Liberal Democrats have already successfully forced the government to backtrack on their senseless plan to let multiple states club together to buy whatever-sized stake in a British outlet they fancied. Now my colleagues in the Lords and I will deliver a showdown to overturn this Bill entirely — rallying Conservative and crossbench peers to defeat the government on this misguided policy."
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Philippines biodiversity hotspot Palawan pushes back on mining
BROOKES POINT, Philippines: A nickel stockpile towers over farmer Moharen Tambiling's rice paddy in the Philippines' Palawan, evidence of a mining boom that locals hope a new moratorium will tame. "They told us before the start of their operations that it wouldn't affect us, but the effects are undeniable now," Tambiling told AFP. "Pangolins, warthogs, birds are disappearing. Flowers as well." A biodiversity hotspot, Palawan also holds vast deposits of nickel, needed for everything from stainless steel to electric vehicles. Once the world's largest exporter of the commodity, the Philippines is now racing to catch up with Indonesia. In 2021, Manila lifted a nine-year ban on mining licences. Despite promised jobs and tax revenue, there is growing pushback against the sector in Palawan. In March, the island's governing council unanimously passed a 50-year moratorium on any new mining permits. "Flash floods, the siltation of the sea, fisheries, mangrove areas... We are witnesses to the effects of long-term mining," Nieves Rosento, a former local councillor who led the push, told AFP. Environmental rights lawyer Grizelda Mayo-Anda said the moratorium could stop nearly 70 proposed projects spanning 240,000 hectares. "You have to protect the old-growth forest, and it's not being done," she said. From 2001 to 2024, Palawan -- dubbed the country's "last ecological frontier" -- lost 219,000 hectares of tree cover, more than any other province, in part due to mining, according to Global Forest Watch. A fisherman showing two fish, his catch of the day, near the pier at the village of Maasin, in Brooke's Point, Palawan province. - AFP In southern Palawan's Brooke's Point, a Chinese ship at a purpose-built pier waits for ore from the stockpile overlooking Tambiling's farm. Mining company Ipilan says increased production will result in greater royalties for Indigenous people and higher tax revenues, but that means little to Tambiling's sister Alayma. The single mother-of-six once made 1,000-5,000 pesos (US$18-90) a day selling lobster caught where the pier now sits. "We were surprised when we saw backhoes digging up the shore," she told AFP, calling a one-time compensation offer of 120,000 pesos ($2,150) insulting. "The livelihood of all the indigenous peoples depended on that area." On the farm, Tambiling stirred rice paddy mud to reveal reddish laterite he says is leaking from the ore heap and poisoning his crops. Above him, swathes of the Mantalingahan mountains have been deforested, producing floods he describes as "fearsome, deep and fast-moving." Ipilan has faced protests and legal challenges over its logging, but its operations continue. Calls to parent company Global Ferronickel Holdings were not returned. For some in Palawan, the demand for nickel to power EVs has a certain irony. "You may be able to... eliminate pollution using electric vehicles," said Jeminda Bartolome, an anti-mining advocate. "But you should also study what happens to the area you are mining." In Bataraza, the country's oldest nickel mine is expanding, having secured permission before the moratorium. Rio Tuba employees armed with brooms, goggles, hats and scarves are barely visible through reddish dust as they sweep an access road that carries 6,000 tonnes of ore destined for China each day. Company senior vice president Jose Bayani Baylon said mining turned a barely accessible malarial swamp into a "first-class municipality". "You have an airport, you have a port, you have a community here. You have a hospital, you have infrastructure which many other communities don't have," he told AFP. He dismisses environmental concerns as overblown. With part of its concession tapped out, the company is extending into an area once off-limits to logging but since rezoned. Thousands of trees have been cleared since January, according to locals, but Baylon said "under the law, for every tree you cut, you have to plant 100". The company showed AFP a nine-hectare plot it spent 15 years restoring with native plants. But it is unclear to what degree that will be replicated. Baylon concedes some areas could become solar farms instead. Nearby, indigenous resident Kennedy Coria says mining has upset Mount Bulanjao's ecosystem. "Honeybees disappeared where we used to find them. Fruit trees in the forest stopped bearing fruit," the father-of-seven said. A fifth of the Philippines' Indigenous land is covered by mining and exploration permits, according to rights group Global Witness. Legally, they have the right to refuse projects and share profits, but critics say the process is rarely clear. "There are Indigenous peoples who have not received any royalties for the past 10 years," said Rosento. Coria, who can neither read nor write, said he must sign a document each year when accepting what he is told is his share of Rio Tuba profits. "We get about four kilos of rice from the community leader, who tells us it came from the company," he said. Rio Tuba said funds are distributed in coordination with the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP), which is meant to represent the communities. But some say it acts in the interests of miners, attempting to persuade locals to accept concessions and the terms offered by companies. The NCIP referred questions to multiple regional offices, none of which replied. The government's industry regulator declined interview requests. While Palawan's moratorium will not stop Rio Tuba's expansion or Ipilan's operations, supporters believe it will slow further mining. Ryan Maminta, a councillor who backed the moratorium, said it already halted one expansion. There are looming legal challenges, however. A recent Supreme Court decision struck down a mining ban in Occidental Mindoro province. Backers remain confident though, and Rosento said the council would stand firm. "Responsible mining is just a catchphrase," she said. - AFP
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Asian stocks mixed as traders shrug at US-Vietnam trade deal
HONG KONG: Stocks struggled in Asia on Thursday (July 3) as investors gave a lukewarm reception to the US-Vietnam trade deal, while the dollar eased ahead of key US jobs data that could impact Federal Reserve interest rates plans. Attention was also on Washington as Republicans struggled to push Donald Trump's tax-slashing budget bill through the House of Representatives amid warnings it will inflate an already ballooning national debt. While the Vietnam agreement provided hope that other governments can reach agreements with Washington, dealers were cautious as it emerged that the country must still pay tolls of as much as 40 per cent for certain exports. With less than a week left until the US president's July 9 deadline to hammer out pacts to avoid his "reciprocal" levies, just three countries have done so - stoking worries his "Liberation Day" measures will kick in and spark fresh market turmoil. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: "It is my Great Honor to announce that I have just made a Trade Deal with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after speaking with To Lam, the Highly Respected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam." He said that under the "Great Deal of Cooperation", imports of Vietnamese goods will face a 20 per cent US tariff, while goods that pass through Vietnam to circumvent steeper trade barriers - so-called "transshipping" - will see a 40 per cent tariff. The news means Hanoi will avoid paying the 46 per cent tolls initially applied on the April 2 tariff blitz, though the cost of goods going into America will still surge. Hanoi traders were unimpressed, with the Vietnamese capital's stock market down in early trade. A third record close in four days for Wall Street's S&P 500 and Nasdaq also did little to lift buying sentiment elsewhere in Asia, with Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney and Wellington all falling. Singapore, Seoul, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta edged up. Trump said this week he will not push back his deadline to make more deals though he and some of his officials have said a number were in the pipeline. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday his administration was doing its "utmost" to secure an agreement. However, he warned that "it's certainly not easy, that much is clear. And to be honest, I can't say with confidence that we'll be able to wrap everything up" by the deadline. The dollar continued to struggle as traders boosted rate cut bets after data showed the private sector unexpectedly shed jobs last month for the first time since March 2023, suggesting the labour market was slackening. The reading came a day before the much-anticipated non-farm payrolls report that is used by the Fed to guide policy. Traders widely expect the bank to cut rates twice this year but there is growing speculation that it could make three, with one possibly at the July meeting. "Payrolls is the focus (Thursday), where consensus is for a 110,000 payrolls gain and a slight lift in the unemployment rate to 4.3 per cent," said National Australia Bank's Taylor Nugent. "It would take more than that to dent (policy board) members' comfort (that) the labour market is resilient enough to wait beyond July for more clarity on inflation and the outlook." Meanwhile, US Treasury yields rose amid fresh worries in the bond market over Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill" that cuts taxes as well as spending on programmes such as Medicaid. Independent analysis suggests it will add US$3 trillion to the already-colossal US debt mountain, which observers warn could deal a fresh blow to the world's top economy. - AFP
