GUWAHATI: In recent cases that occurred in Guwahati, it came to light that customers of various banks including the State Bank of India (SBI) and Central Bank of India have become targets of tele-calling agents and have lost huge amounts of money to fraudsters.
One of the victims is Devapriya Das who is an account holder at Central Bank of India. Allegedly, an amount of Rs 24,999 was siphoned off from her account on June 28. The incident came to her knowledge only after she received a message regarding the withdrawal of the said amount through an SMS. The victim has registered a case in connection with it at Chandmari police station.
The second such incident happened with one Tarini Baishya, who holds an account at SBI. Reportedly, Baishya lost a total of Rs 30,000 after he gave his 16-digit ATM number to a tele-caller who claimed to be an employee of SBI. Baishya filed a complaint with the Bharalumukh police station on June 15.
“Nine out of 10 people are victims of cyber crime. Usually, a team of fraudsters work together to commit multiple frauds over a couple of days using blank SIM cards that they obtain with the help of the operators from telecom service provider. Thus, it becomes very difficult to arrest the culprits,” informed officials at the cyber cell of the police department.
Earlier this year, a city-based doctor was duped of Rs 17,798 by a cyber fraudster bearing mobile number 8375045888 who impersonated an ICICI bank officer and sought details of his credit card for the purpose of upgrading it. The doctor, being busy with his patients, did not give it much thought and divulged vital details of the card in good faith.
However, when he realised he had been duped, it was too late. A sum total of Rs 17,798 had been transferred from his account in three different transactions. The case has been registered with Paltan Bazaar police station and no arrest has been made so far in this connection.
SIM Swipe: A sophisticated form of tele-calling fraud
A growing reliance on phone-based authentication has made SIM swapping an increasingly lucrative enterprise. A high proportion of banking customers now have mobile numbers linked with their accounts, making this attack more common.
This sophisticated form of fraud that allows hackers to gain access to bank accounts, credit card numbers and other personal data is the newest tele-calling fraud taking place in Guwahati. So far, two cases of SIM swipe have been registered at the Paltan Bazaar Police Station alone.
Explaining the modus operandi, an investigating officer told G Plus, “The fraudsters turn into tele-callers and introduce themselves as representatives from your telecom service provider. You will be informed that within half an hour, your SIM card will be blocked as the KYC is not updated. After they create a panic situation, they will leave you with only one option, that is, to provide them with the OTP sent on your mobile number. Once you do so, your SIM will be blocked within 15 minutes.”
Senior officials claim that with the help of the operators from telecom service providers, the fraudsters manage to get blank SIM cards. In the meantime, the other gang members identify the target and access all their personal bank information using the nexus with the banks.
Extracting all the information, one of the members will make a call to the target and inform them about blocking of the SIM card.
Once the target is convinced to send the OTP, the original SIM card of the victim is deactivated forever and the new SIM card (which is already in possession of the fraudsters) is activated. As a result, the gang gets access to all the bank account details and other potential areas where the mobile number is used to receive the OTP or other security passwords.
