Frequent telecom fraud and kidnapping cases in Myanmar have raised public doubts about how swindlers circumvent the real-name registration of SIM cards. Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of the Global Times, suggests deep involvement of “insiders” among telecom operators and urges them to provide an authoritative response.
According to the Economic Observer, fraudsters illegally obtain real and registered SIM cards in China by deceiving citizens into opening accounts and leveraging insiders within telecom operators. These cards are then inserted into virtual dialing technology equipment called GOIP to make fraudulent calls, making them difficult to trace.
Cases of Trickery to Get the Elderly to Open Accounts
A telecom operator insider disclosed that GOIP devices support multiple SIM cards operating simultaneously, converting these SIM card signals into virtual dialing signals via internet connectivity, and can control multiple numbers on a single device. The technical chain of telecom fraud generally involves someone opening the card, others sending the card abroad, and someone setting up GOIP equipment domestically.
China has witnessed several cases where criminals tricked elderly people into opening accounts before seizing them. Mianyang Fucheng People's Court in Sichuan Province once revealed a case where criminals collected over 30 cards by offering elderly clients 50 RMB (30.71 MYR) for each. Investigations showed some of these phone numbers were involved in multiple fraud cases, involving funds totaling over 200,000 RMB (122,800 MYR).
There are also cases where insiders in telecom operators illegally obtained SIM cards, aiding in fraudulent activities. In 2020, Hebei police cracked a major case of illegal trading of SIM cards and bank cards, arresting 22 suspects, including 10 employees from China's major telecom operators: China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom.
Currently, Chinese telecom operators have adopted a series of technical measures, including marking suspicious phone numbers, providing call alerts, intercepting fraudulent messages, using algorithms to identify fraud-related numbers, and selectively suspending connections.
Telecom expert Ma Jihua points out that if technical control is too lenient, it cannot be effective, while if it is too strict, it may harm users and affect their experience. Telecom operators need to balance development and security.