The newest victim of the phone hacking scam, also known as SIM swapping, in the nation’s capital is an advocate from North Delhi who works in the city. She lost money from her bank account and had three missed calls from unknown numbers.
The lawyer did not respond to calls from the accused or provide any personal information or an OTP, according to the Delhi Police’s Cyber Cell. Despite this, the accused was able to obtain all of the lawyer’s personal information, including her banking information, and took her money.
On October 18, the police were informed by the trial and high court lawyer that she had lost lakhs of rupees from her account. This is when the event was reported. The police would not provide information regarding the sum that was defrauded. An officer reported that three missed calls from a cell number were received by the 35-year-old advocate. When she later contacted the individual from a different number, she was informed that it was a call for a courier delivery.
“She had only shared her house address with the accused thinking she would be receiving a package from a friend and she even received it. Later, two messages from her banking services application about two withdrawals, without her knowledge, alarmed her. The advocate had not shared any banking details, OTP, or password. When she approached us, we found money was debited several times without her consent,” said the officer who termed the case as ‘SIM Swap fraud’.
The investigation further revealed that the woman had an “unusual” browser history to sites and portals, which weren’t accessed by her. “She also received SMSs with regard to phishing links; a suspicious message of some UPI registration has also been found. The woman told us she was not dealing with UPI or any such website,” added the officer.
“The woman in her complaint has also said that she received a call (after the scam) from a man, who portrayed himself as an IFSO officer, seeking her bank statement. Luckily, she didn’t share any details with him,” the officer said.
According to the police, no suspects have been identified yet. To identify the accused, a complaint has been filed with the cyber cell, and transactions are being examined.
In SIM swapping or phone hacking scams, which have occurred in Delhi on three or four times, the accused typically steal mobile phone numbers and use a cell carrier to assign them to a new SIM card. According to the police, the defendants utilise contacts at mobile firms to obtain information about their targets, and they use further links with cell carriers to switch SIM cards. After taking possession of the SIM card, they are able to obtain OTPs and password information needed to access their targets’ bank accounts.
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