The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), a unit of the Government of India, has issued a warning to users about a scam in the name of fake e-SIM cards. This cyber fraud is so dangerous that in it, the fraudsters can steal money from the victim’s bank account without entering OTP or ATM details.
In today’s time, as much as technology is proving to be beneficial for people, its misuse is also increasing. In fact, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), a unit of the Government of India, has issued a warning to users about a scam in the name of fake e-SIM cards. This cyber fraud is so dangerous that in it, the fraudsters can steal money from the victim’s bank account without entering OTP or ATM details.
Recently, using this technique, Rs 4 lakh was withdrawn from a person’s account by scammers. To carry out such scams, cybercriminals target the phone numbers of users so that they can get access to the OTP. As soon as they get access to the OTP sent to the customers by the bank, the scammers enter their accounts.
How does an eSIM scam happen?
I4C said that the scammers first call the users and send them an eSIM activation link. As soon as the users click on the link, the scammers get access to their mobile number. The signal from the users’ phones with physical SIM is lost and the SIM is activated in the scammer’s eSIM device. As soon as they get access to the mobile number, the scammers make transactions from the users’ accounts. For this, an OTP is required, which is inserted by the scammer on the activated eSIM.
How to keep yourself safe?
I4C has given some important tips to people to avoid this fraud. The agency said that users should avoid unknown callers and sent links. They should request the eSIM conversion themselves and should not trust any untrusted source. In addition, if a person’s phone suddenly stops receiving network signal, they should immediately inform their bank and telecom service provider.
The warning comes a few weeks ago, when the Department of Telecommunications (DoT)’s Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) blacklisted 3-4 lakh SIM cards. These SIM cards were being used in fraudulent financial activities. The report also revealed that FRI’s AI-enabled tools identify around 2,000 high-risk phone numbers every day. These blacklisted numbers were being used in investment and job scams.
Why has this concern increased?
The 14C portal, launched under the Ministry of Home Affairs in January 2020, was created with the aim of curbing cyber crimes. With the increasing number of digital transactions and smartphone users, cases of cyber fraud are also increasing continuously. For this reason, the government has now issued an alert regarding the new eSIM scam.
We have taken all measures to ensure that the information provided in this article and on our social media platform is credible, verified and sourced from other Big media Houses. For any feedback or complaint, reach out to us at businessleaguein@gmail.com
Add businessleague.in as a Preferred Source
