Fraudsters Rob Rs 21 Lakh By Making Duplicate eSIM; This Is How It Started With KYC Message

Today, we will be covering about yet another cyber-crime piece, this time with regards to ‘e-SIM swapping scam’.

Last week, around 4 cases were registered from Hyderabad, where people lost Rs 21 lakh from their bank accounts, due to this e-SIM swapping scam.

The cyber crime and security department of Maharashtra Police issued an advisory on the same dated July 25, asking people to be more careful and not fall prey to this new kind of cyber crime.

Let’s learn more on this.

What is an ‘e-SIM Card’?

There are some service providers, who have introduced mobile phones supporting e-SIM. Such devices do not necessarily require a physical SIM card.

All you need to know about them, is that it is a small chip embedded in the mobile device, offering an easier protocol to switch network providers.

All you Need to Know about this Scam

Internet fraudsters always seem to appear one step ahead of the safety net prepared for their innocent victims.

Taking advantage of this new technology, these cyber crooks have siphoned off about Rs 21 lakh from 4 victims, by accessing their bank accounts through e-SIMs.

We have entailed the detailed procedure of how the entire process unfolds itself so that you can protect yourself from falling prey to such scams.

• You will be sent a text message asking you to update your eKYC verification, else your SIM card would be blocked within 24 hours.
• S Appalanaidu, one of the 4 victims of the scam, received this message, “Dear customer, your SIM card will be blocked in 24 hours. Please update your eKYC verification”, from the source ‘QP-TXTSMS’.
• Once you receive the ‘horrifying’ message, you will receive a call from the fraudster posing as an executive from your telecom company.
• You will then receive an email ID and you’d be asked to forward this link to the customer care number.
• On doing so, you will receive an eSIM request, which you’ll be asked to forward to the ‘supposed’ service provider, along with the registered email address.
• Once this request is accepted, you will receive a QR code to activate the e-SIM service, on your registered email ID.
• You will also receive a Google Form asking for your bank details.
• Once you fill and submit this form, your e-SIM is activated by the fraudster in their device using the QR code and your SIM card gets blocked.