‘SIM swap’ scam can cost you dearly

Hyderabad: Have you been facing problems with your SIM card of late? Is it playing spoilsport with no network, as if it has been blocked, with no calls or messages possible at all? Better report the issue immediately to your service provider. According to the police, chances are high that fraudsters have submitted forged identity […]

Hyderabad: Have you been facing problems with your SIM card of late? Is it playing spoilsport with no network, as if it has been blocked, with no calls or messages possible at all? Better report the issue immediately to your service provider.

According to the police, chances are high that fraudsters have submitted forged identity documents and are trying to get a new SIM with your number. With a rise in incidents of money being siphoned off from bank accounts linked to mobile phone numbers across the country, cops are warning citizens to be alert. Officials said if the SIM cards either stop working or get blocked all of a sudden, it could be that fraudsters are trying to procure a new SIM card on the same number by SIM swapping, with the intention of misusing it.

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According to Cybercrime officials, the modus operandi is to get the original SIM cloned and to misuse the duplicate to get access to the victim’s online bank account, from where funds are transferred to the fraudster’s account.

Police said fraudsters were targeting customers of popular mobile network operators. They contact the company with a complaint that it is not working properly. They do this with forged identity documents to impersonate the victim. Once the request is made, the service provider deactivates the old SIM (which is in the victim’s phone) and activates the new SIM (in the hands of the fraudster) in a few hours.

“Fraudsters get the SIM swapped when they want to steal personal data by obtaining your personal information through various techniques including phishing,” an official said. “Once the SIM is swapped and the fraudster is in possession of the new SIM card, they will have access to the victim’s phone number and can operate his or her bank account. Since the victim will be unable to use the mobile services during the period, the OTPs from banks are also sent to the new SIM,” the official said.

 

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