Indian SIM used for fraud in Thailand, Cambodia

Kolkata: The Cyber Crime Branch of Kolkata Police at Lalbazar has registered a case against SIM card sellers of various companies who were providing a large number of SIM cards for use by cyber fraudsters in India and abroad. The SIM cards were being used in Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar for cyber slave operations. Four such sellers have been nabbed so far, Lalbazar said on Tuesday. Multiple raids across Bengal and outside the state are ongoing.An earlier probe had pointed to the possibility of the SIM cards issued in Behala being used in Pakistan. "Four persons, including one mastermind, have been arrested for activating fake SIM cards. Raids led to the seizure of eight mobile phones, five biometric machines, and 237 SIM cards. They would ask their customers to give their thumb impression on biometric machines and would then inform them that the verification process failed. But in reality, all these were treated as successful verifications at the service provider's end. The accused would then use the verified data against which they would collect a genuine SIM and sell it to cyber fraudsters across India," said DC (Cyber Crime) Abhishek Modi.The accused were nabbed through multiple raids at Baguiati and Beleghata. The accused picked up from Kestopur in Baguiati include Deblina Chakraborty (24) and Anirban Saha (28). Ripan Saha (22) hails from Rampurhat in Birbhum. Sobhan Debnath (27) from Habra was arrested from Beleghata. "Those arrested are involved in unauthorized and fraudulent use of Point of Sale (POS) terminals belonging to two separate service providers, which were utilized to activate fictitious SIM cards. These SIM cards were subsequently transferred to the fraudsters located in various parts of India and abroad to commit cyber crimes. Deblina Chakroborty is the highest provider of fake SIMs in Bengal as per the list provided by I4C," said joint CP (crime & railways) Rupesh Kumar.Kolkata: The Cyber Crime Branch of Kolkata Police at Lalbazar has registered a case against SIM card sellers of various companies who were providing a large number of SIM cards for use by cyber fraudsters in India and abroad. The SIM cards were being used in Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar for cyber slave operations. Four such sellers have been nabbed so far, Lalbazar said on Tuesday. Multiple raids across Bengal and outside the state are ongoing.An earlier probe had pointed to the possibility of the SIM cards issued in Behala being used in Pakistan. "Four persons, including one mastermind, have been arrested for activating fake SIM cards. Raids led to the seizure of eight mobile phones, five biometric machines, and 237 SIM cards. They would ask their customers to give their thumb impression on biometric machines and would then inform them that the verification process failed. But in reality, all these were treated as successful verifications at the service provider's end. The accused would then use the verified data against which they would collect a genuine SIM and sell it to cyber fraudsters across India," said DC (Cyber Crime) Abhishek Modi.The accused were nabbed through multiple raids at Baguiati and Beleghata. The accused picked up from Kestopur in Baguiati include Deblina Chakraborty (24) and Anirban Saha (28). Ripan Saha (22) hails from Rampurhat in Birbhum. Sobhan Debnath (27) from Habra was arrested from Beleghata. "Those arrested are involved in unauthorized and fraudulent use of Point of Sale (POS) terminals belonging to two separate service providers, which were utilized to activate fictitious SIM cards. These SIM cards were subsequently transferred to the fraudsters located in various parts of India and abroad to commit cyber crimes. Deblina Chakroborty is the highest provider of fake SIMs in Bengal as per the list provided by I4C," said joint CP (crime & railways) Rupesh Kumar.
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