The Cyberabad Cyber Crime police apprehended six persons including two Nigerians for their alleged involvement in SIM card swapping and transfering funds.
According to the police, the accused siphoned off funds after sending phishing emails and collecting mobile phone numbers and Internet banking details of victims, after which they used to transfer funds into their own accounts.
The accused
The accused have been identified as Ebigbo Innocent and Odafe Henry, both from Nigeria. The other accused are Santosh Benerjee, Ankan Saha, Rajat Kundu, Chandan Verma and Sanjib Das, all from West Bengal.
Police were acting on a complaint filed by P Venkata Krishna, a businessman. The complainant stated that on December 15, last year, his mobile phone was disconnected. He later found out that bank transactions to the tune of ₹ 9 lakh were done without his knowledge. The funds were transferred to accounts in Kolkata, West Bengal. After approaching the mobile phone service provider, he found out that unknown people had taken a SIM card by submitting documents in his name.
After an investigation, the police found out that Innocent was allegedly colluding with Henry and other accused and fraudulently transferring cash into accounts. The funds were then routed to Nigeria. Police said that the accused have targeted at least 13 companies in the same fashion. While Innocent is absconding, the other accused were apprehended.