Illegal sim card sales a major security threat

Illegal sim card sales a major security threat

12.12.2021

In October, city crime branch busted a network of individuals involved in selling sim cards illegally, after a man from Talod taluka in Sabarkantha was apprehended.

During his questioning, it emerged that bank accounts, digital wallets and OTT access credentials are being sold illegally.

Police personnel investigating the sim card racket, which has roots in north Gujarat, found that the fraudsters had some 500 active cards which were being used by two people simultaneously: the proper owner and the cyber crook.

It was a startling revelation as cyber crooks were earlier using inactive sim cards to dupe people.

The accused steal data on active numbers from telecom companies or banks using the dark web. They clone sim cards and use them either in call centre rackets to dupe foreign nationals or to extort money from people. They use these cards for a day or two and the real owner is usually none the wiser, said a police officer.

Apart from the threat of personal information being misused through access to the sim card, this also represents a threat to national security because calls can be made and there will be no tracks to follow.

Police came upon the racket after arresting a man from Sabarkantha