After credit card and fake lottery scams, now again the cases of cloning SIMs are on a rise. Sim swapping has been prevalent in the country, and in a similar case a Pune man has now been duped of 93.5 lakh rupees.
The caller said he was an Airtel employee and managed to fool the user.
While the banks and telecom companies continue to aware users that anyone from a bank or telecom company will never contact them for any details, these scams continue to grow.
Here’s What Happened
The accused called up the victim and said he as an Airtel employee. The accused claimed that if the victim did not share his details, his SIM card will be blocked under the circumstance.
The victim then shared the details of his SIM card and gave away all the information. The same SIM was linked to his bank account.
Soon, the accused cloned his SIM card and the victim came to know that Rs 93.5 lakh has been transferred from his bank account. He then lodged a case at Bharti Vidyapeeth police station in Pune.
The SIM card details and information enabled the caller to copy the SIM card, making the one in the victim’s phone useless.
The accused soon got himself a new SIM card with the details. He got a new SIM with the same mobile number which has access to the linked bank account of the victim. A complaint was lodged against unidentified people under Section 419, 420 of the IPC and Section 66(a)(d) of the IT Act.
Related: ATM Skimming On The Rise; Follow These Steps And Stay Safe!
What’s SIM Swapping?
SIM Swapping means exchanging SIM cards by registering a new SIM card with your mobile number. A person with your details will contact the telecom company, provide the authentic details and get a new SIM with your mobile number.
Soon your SIM card will become invalid. Scammers use the new SIM to receive OTPs on the SIM card.
Often some scammers call you posing as a telecaller from, say Jio or Airtel and will ask for details. They will try to convince you to give them the unique SIM code and will ask you to Press 1 to confirm.
They connect the same call to the telecom server. As you Press 1 to confirm, this will intimate the company that yes you have lost your SIM, and you need a new one.
Never entertain such calls. Companies never ask for any sensitive details over the phone.
Scammers actually look for numbers which is officially registered with your bank account. If successfully cloned, they use it to loot money from your bank account.
Banks do not initiate bank a transfer unless you provide an OTP, and you can only receive an OTP on your registered mobile number. The scammer will then use your mobile number to initiate transfers, and once done will throw away the SIM with no trace left.
Related: Dark Secrets Of Bank Frauds Revealed – Rs 1 Lakh Cr ‘Officially’ Looted In Last 5 Years!
SIM Swap Scam: How To Protect Yourself?
There are a number of ways you can protect yourself against such a scam. It’s all about staying alert.
- Someone will call you posing as an executive from a telecom company and wants your SIM card details for a routine checkup or new offers, free data or something else. Straightaway say NO if they ask for some sensitive detail.
- Remember no one from any company will ever ask you for any confidential information. Even if call you, they will never ask for any such information.
- Scammers generally ask for a 20 digit unique number written on the SIM, so if someone is asking you for your 20-numbered SIM code, its definitely a scammer.
- They will request to press 1 or some number to authenticate the process. They connect the same call to the telecom server and authenticate the SWAPPING process with the telecom operator.
- No bank employee or any telecom service provider will ever ask for any personal details on a call.
- Do not entertain any such call where someone is asking anything unrelevant.
Scammers generally say that your number will be deactivated, or you may face a disconnection. In such case visit your nearest telecom storewith your concern. Do not share any detail over the phone!