In a worrisome cyber scam, fraudsters managed to wipe off lakhs of rupees from the victim’s account by hacking her phone. The victim, who is a Delhi-based advocate, claims to have received three missed calls from unknown numbers before she lost Rs. 50 lakh from her bank account.
Delhi-Based Advocate Received Three Missed Calls Before The Fraud Took Place
The incident was reported on October 18, 2023, when the trial and high courts advocate informed the police of losing lakhs of rupees from her bank account. Per a report published by Times Now, a police officer mentioned that the 35-year-old advocate received three missed calls from an unknown number before realizing she had been robbed.
When the victim called back on the unknown number from a different cell, someone picked up the call and claimed it was related to a courier delivery. The advocate shared her house address in the context of receiving a parcel, which she did. However, later, she received two messages from her bank informing her about the withdrawals.
The Advocate Didn’t Share Any OTPs Or Passwords
The report mentions that she didn’t share any OTPs, passwords, or other confidential details that could lead to the scam. However, she fell prey to a SIM Swap Fraud. In the following investigation, it was found out that the advocate had an unusual browsing history, which she didn’t visit. She also received messages with phishing links and UPI registration, although she didn’t initiate one.
In her complaint, the advocate also mentions that she received a call after the scam from a man who claimed to be an IFSO officer and asked for her bank account statement, which she denied sharing. The police have yet to find a suspect in this case and have complained to the cyber cell.
What Is SIM Card Swapping?
SIM Card Swapping is a relatively new technique of duping people of their money. In this scam, fraudsters find ways to access their targets’ phone numbers and connect them to new SIM cards (called SIM card swaps). Later, they use these SIM cards to access the targets’ personal information, such as banking details, passwords, OTPs, etc., leading to scams.
It is important to mention that once the fraudsters link a new SIM to an existing mobile number, the old SIM card with the potential target will run out of service. Hence, if someone’s SIM card has randomly stopped working or isn’t connecting to the cellular service anymore, immediately contact the network provider and ask them to close the number or issue another SIM card. Further, signing up for regular transaction alerts from the bank on email ID can act as a safety net.
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