From Feb 28, postpaid SIM cards will be limited to 10 per person: IMDA, police

From Feb 28, one person can only register up to 10 postpaid SIM cards across all telcos in Singapore, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Singapore Police Force (SPF) said in a joint statement on Friday (Jan 23). 

This is the latest in the series of anti-scam measures put in place by the authority and telcos to protect the public against scams. 

IMDA has been working with telcos to tighten registration so as to prevent illicit use of SIM cards, the statement said. 

It added: "This aims to minimise the illicit purchase and use of SIM cards, while catering to the needs of legitimate users, such as those who require a higher number of SIM cards for family or business purposes."

In April 2015, the maximum number of prepaid SIM cards a person could register for was reduced from 10 to three across all telcos. 

Before April 2014, customers were allowed to register an unlimited number of such cards.

In April 2024, this was tightened to a maximum of 10 postpaid SIM cards per telco. 

Despite these measures, the authorities found that there was still an increasing trend of mules purchasing postpaid SIM cards in bulk across different retailers, and handing them over to criminal syndicates or scammers, who would then use them for illicit purposes. 

Existing subscribers will be not be affected

The new rules will be applied to new subscriptions from Feb 28 to minimise the impact on legitimate users.  

Legitimate subscrbers who have already subscribed to more than 10 postpaid SIM cards before Feb 28 can retain all of them, but will not be able to sign up for additional ones. 

SIM cards subscribed under company or corporate subscriptions plans and data-only SIM cards that cannot send SMS and make calls will also be unaffected by the new rules. 

esther.lam@asiaone.com