Mobile phone dealer fined record $48,000 for exploiting customers' personal data to register prepaid SIM Cards
Koh Wei Ming faces penalty for selling over 1,000 SIM cards to anonymous buyers by illegally registering them with customers' personal data without consent
SINGAPORE — A mobile phone dealer named Koh Wei Ming, also known as Muhammad Amin Koh, has been fined a record $48,000 for illegally exploiting customers' personal data to register SIM cards without their knowledge or consent.
The Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) said on Wednesday (17 Jan), that over four years, Koh sold more than 1,000 SIM cards to anonymous buyers.
In a judgment dated 17 October last year, PDPC received 1,391 complaints between February 2020 and September 2021. These complaints originated from members of the public who, despite having their numbers registered with the Do Not Call Registry, reported receiving unwanted marketing messages.
Tactics used by mobile dealer
The commission traced these messages back to 95 prepaid SIM cards acquired from Koh's shop, Mobile Chat, located in Geylang, which sold mobile phones and prepaid SIM cards. Investigation revealed that Koh exploited the SIM card registration process in two ways:
Koh would scan identification documents (such as identity cards and passports) twice to register two SIM cards without the customer's knowledge. One card would be handed over to the customer, while the other was sold to unauthorised buyers.
If a customer completed the registration process but chose not to buy a SIM card, Koh would keep the card instead of cancelling or reversing the registration. He would then activate the card without the customer's knowledge and sell it to other buyers.
The 95 SIM cards sold by Koh were registered using the details of 73 individuals without their consent, including names, addresses, NRIC numbers, foreign identification numbers, or passport numbers.
Why the PDPC imposed a record fine
Over a span of four years, Koh engaged in the sale of SIM cards to anonymous buyers, accumulating an estimated profit of approximately S$35,000. His modus operandi involved selling an average of 250 unauthorised SIM cards annually, each yielding a profit of S$35 per card.
Considering the severity of Koh's breaches, the commission imposed the record fine, emphasising the intentional nature of his actions, the prolonged period over which the offences occurred, the inconvenience caused to innocent parties, and his substantial profit.
According to the commission, Koh had asked that no financial penalty be imposed, citing personal and financial hardship. He explained that he was the breadwinner for his family and was undergoing treatment at the Institute of Mental Health.
In September 2023, Koh was sentenced to 16 months in jail for illegally modifying the contents of telecommunications company M1's computer system to register prepaid SIM cards.
The commission highlighted Koh's case as the second instance of egregious misuse of personal data for illicit activities, with the previous case involving Yoshi Mobile, which was fined $21,000 in 2022 for selling illicit SIM cards used for sending unsolicited messages.
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