Telecom minister warns foreign SIM cards being used to target victims in their own countries
Cambodia's Minister of Posts and Telecommunications has sounded the alarm over the growing use of foreign-issued SIM cards by online scam syndicates, urging countries around the world to tighten regulations and cooperate more closely to combat cross-border fraud.
Speaking at the International Conference on Combating Online Scams (ICCOS-2026) in Phnom Penh on September 23, Chea Vandeth explained that criminal networks operating in Cambodia are importing large volumes of SIM cards from other countries. These cards are then used with international roaming services, making fraudulent calls and texts appear to originate locally within the victim's own country — lending the scams a veneer of legitimacy.
Vandeth revealed that during a single raid, authorities uncovered more than 50,000 foreign-issued SIM cards from various countries stashed inside a relatively small scam compound.
He urged governments worldwide to enforce strict SIM card registration and identity verification requirements before any cards are sold.
"No telecommunications provider anywhere should be permitted to sell anonymous SIM cards," Vandeth stated.
Cambodia Steps Up Domestic Enforcement
The minister outlined several steps Cambodia has already taken to prevent its telecom infrastructure from being co-opted by criminal networks. Since 2022, the Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (TRC) has shut down more than 330 illegal base stations, including those providing unauthorized services linked to online scam operations.
On the digital front, a dedicated monitoring team has helped take down over 53,000 illegal websites. Partnerships with major platforms such as Meta, Telegram, and Binance have led to the removal of more than 5,300 accounts, pages, and groups connected to fraudulent recruitment schemes, fake job postings, and other forms of online fraud.
A Call for Coordinated Global Action
Despite these efforts, Vandeth emphasized that tackling the problem from within Cambodia's borders alone is insufficient, given the inherently transnational nature of criminal networks.
"Cambodia cannot solve this problem on our own," he said, calling on governments, regulators, law enforcement, financial institutions, telecom companies, and digital platforms to share intelligence, bolster identity verification systems, and close regulatory loopholes that criminals exploit.
"Only coordinated international action can close this gap," he added.
", "excerpt": "Cambodia's telecom minister warns that foreign SIM cards are enabling scammers to make fraud calls appear local to victims, calling for stricter global registration rules and cross-border cooperation.", "tags": ["online scams", "SIM card fraud", "Cambodia", "cross-border crime", "telecommunications", "ICCOS-2026"], "category": "Cybersecurity" } ```