Crooks steal Rs 30 lakh in 3 cases of SIM swap in Pune

PUNE: The city cybercrime cell recently registered five SIM card-swapping cases, in which three people collectively lost around Rs30 lakh.
The fraudsters had used the same method to swap all SIM cards — they obtain a SIM card’s unique 20-digit serial number and then have the telco issue a duplicate SIM, thus deactivating the original card so the victim doesn’t receive any calls or messages. The suspects then use the new SIM to access the victim’s bank account.
In one case, the fraudsters obtained a pre-approved loan worth Rs18 lakh from a bank under their victim’s name.
Senior inspector (cyber) Jayram Paygude said the fraudster had contacted the man to update his 3G SIM card to 4G. “The man shared the 20-digit serial number with the fraudster and subsequently got his SIM card swapped,” Paygude said.
The fraudster then got access to the man’s bank account. The bank had a pre-approved loan offer. “The fraudster availed the facility and obtained a loan of Rs18 lakh from the bank,” Paygude said.
The probe revealed that the loan amount was transferred to a bank account in Sangli district and further transferred to different e-wallets. “The fraudsters are based in Jharkhand,” Paygude said.
Similarly, fraudsters obtained a loan of Rs11 lakh on another city-based victim’s name.
By using the same method, the fraudsters also duped a Bavdhan resident of Rs1.15 lakh. The amount was transferred from his e-wallet.