NSS  – Jan 25

Police Colonel Nyunt Wai stated that the SIM cards and bank accounts that were involved in and linked with the online scams have been deactivated or restricted within a month. 

Police Colonel Nyunt Wai addressed it in his speech during the seminar on preventing financial fraud through mobile payment channels that was held at Hilton Hotel, Naypyidaw on 22 January.

Last December, the State Administration Council organized a committee to enforce legal measures against the dissemination of fake news, false information, posts containing explicit or implicit sexual contents, as well as politically manipulative news and propaganda. The Myanmar Police Force also took action by shutting down 881 bank accounts and numerous mobile phone numbers that were being used by mobile gambling agents and online scam businesses.  

Highlighting recent progress, Police Colonel Nyunt Wai stated that authorities have tackled 10-15 online scam cases, permanently deactivating the linked sim cards. He emphasized the ongoing commitment to dismantling these criminal networks.

Before the formation of the committee, legal actions were taken against 3,100 individuals who had posted politically manipulative fake news on social media. Since the committee's establishment, an additional 26 individuals have faced legal proceedings.

Similarly, a total of 371 mobile phone numbers used for posting sexually explicit or implicit content in exchange for money have been terminated. Daily efforts are underway to identify and address such accounts involved in explicit content. 

"To disrupt their illicit operations, we deactivated their sim cards. However, the illegal SIM card black market persists, and they continue to sell these unauthorized sim cards at a trifling amount. We are exerting our utmost efforts to eradicate these illicit sim card distributors. Our commitment remains to shut down these illegal sim cards used in online scams," expressed Police Colonel Nyunt Wai.

Despite efforts taken against online scams, online gambling advertisements on social media continue to proliferate, attracting individuals to engage in their illegal gambling activities.