A retired senior audit officer lost nearly Rs 10 lakh in yet another unauthorised transaction, reportedly due to a ‘SIM swap scam, according to the Rachakonda cybercrime with whom a case was registered
Hyderabad:A retired senior audit officer lost nearly Rs 10 lakh in yet another unauthorised transaction, reportedly due to a ‘SIM swap scam, according to the Rachakonda cybercrime with whom a case was registered. The victim reportedly found that his phone number was linked with another number which was getting all alerts.
The victim, a resident of HB Colony in Kushaiguda, noticed four unauthorised debits from his bank account. He immediately contacted the bank’s customer care and requested them to block his account. The bank registered the complaint and promised an investigation internally. The victim contacted BSNL customer care centre in Kushaiguda, seeking them to block his mobile number.
However, BSNL officials reportedly informed him that his number had been linked with an unknown number and all calls and SMS messages, including OTPs and transaction alerts had been diverted. The diversion has given full access to the scammer.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, the victim said, “I was not aware of the call diversion or messages. It all happened in a single night and the next day I went to the BSNL customer care to alert them of the fraud and block the SIM card. I was told that my SIM card was diverted to another SIM card, which is receiving all the calls and messages. I also filed a complaint with the bank about illegal transactions.”
He claimed that nobody contacted him asking for OTP or to download any mobile apps, so there was no suspicion. However, all the four transactions took place on one single day ranging from `80,000 to `5 lakh.
“It is a case of SIM swapping. In these cases, usually the SIM card user receives a call or a message pertaining to the blocking of the SIM Card where the users end up revealing the OTP. However, there is also a possibility that the scammers are knack at swapping and need no OTP. Once the access is in their hands, they can do anything. All the calls and messages will be diverted on the new number but when dialed to that new number, it says "switch off,” a senior police official explained.
