‘SIM-swap’ fraud: What you should know to secure your bank account

CHENNAI: Even as the Anti-Bank Fraud wing of the Tamil Nadu police’s Central Crime Branch receives hundreds of complaints regarding crores of rupees being swindled through the famous ‘SIM swap’ method, investigation officers have struggled to identify the networks behind such crimes and put the criminals behind bars. Senior police officers said different gangs have used the SIM swap method in India to swindle over Rs 200 crore in the past four years.

Police said they know of two types of SIM swaps currently. “One is where the fraudsters send a phishing email to the victim. Once the victim clicks on the link, the fraudsters send a malware to the system to collect all their personal information. The second is where the gang tracks a person for a while, and collects details. In both scenarios, the gang applies for a duplicate SIM card in the victim’s name and transfers money from the bank account linked to the victim’s mobile number. Hence the name SIM swap,” explained an investigation officer. While the criminals appear to target persons likely to have access to a company account, they also target others.