Sim Swap Fraud

In recent times there have been many incidents of data leakage, privacy violations, and fraud to which many people are falling prey to it. “Sim Swap Fraud " is one such fraud which is increasing in recent years. A businessman based in Mahim was duped of Rs 1.86 crore through this sim swapping.

What is Sim swap?

Many people use the mobile phone as a convenient banking channel. One can get account-related alerts, One Time Password (OTP), unique registration number (URN), 3D secure code etc. required for financial transactions and make various financial inquiries through the mobile.

Under SIM swap/exchange, fraudster manages to get a new SIM card issued for your registered mobile number through the mobile service provider. With the help of the new SIM, card fraudster gets URN/OTP & alerts required for doing financial transactions through your bank account.

How does it work?

It is 2 step process.

Step 1 - Here the fraudster sends you a phishing mail or uses similar phishing activities to get your personal and bank details. These details can also be stolen using malware/Trojans.

Step 2 - This involves sim swap or sim exchange. This is because, in order to use all of this gathered information, they need access to the victim’s mobile messages

Safety Measures -

To avoid falling prey to this fraud follow some safety measures as below -

1. Be vigilant and try to stay aware of your cell phone’s network connectivity status.

2. Some Mobile network operators send customers an SMS to alert you of a SIM swap - which means you can act and stop this fraud in its tracks by contacting your mobile operator immediately

3. Do not switch off your cell phone in the event you are receiving numerous annoying calls, rather don't answer the calls

4. Register for Alerts (SMS and Email) so that when there is any activity on your bank account you will receive an alert

5. Always check your bank statements and online banking transaction history regularly to help identify any issues or irregularities