e-SIM Upgrade Fraud: The cyber fraud that happened with a doctor in Mumbai has once again proved that digital fraud can now target anyone. A doctor in South Mumbai was defrauded of approximately Rs 11 lakh through an e-SIM upgrade scam. This incident took place in September after which the Cyber ​​Cell of Mumbai Police arrested an accused in the case. This case also showed how people unknowingly give fraudsters access to their bank accounts by sharing sensitive information like OTP.

How did the complete e-SIM fraud happen?

The doctor received a call in which a person was calling himself a representative of a telecom company. He told the doctor that his company is now providing e-SIM upgrade service so that he will not need a physical SIM. Hearing the convenience, the doctor opened the official app of his mobile network and followed the instructions given by the caller.

After some time, an OTP came on his phone, which he told to the caller without thinking. The caller assured that within 24 hours the old SIM would be switched off and the new e-SIM would be activated. But two days later, when the doctor checked, his email password had changed and an amount of more than Rs 10.5 lakh had been transferred from the bank account to several accounts.

Police investigation revealed that this amount was transferred to the account of a hospital office boy who had given his bank details on rent to the fraudsters.

What is e-SIM and how is it used?

e-SIM (Embedded SIM) is a digital SIM that is already inbuilt in your phone or smartwatch. No physical SIM card is required to activate it. This technology is especially popular among frequent travelers and dual-SIM users. However, fraudsters are also taking advantage of this facility.

How does e-SIM upgrade scam work?

In this type of fraud, scammers contact the user by pretending to be employees of the telecom company. They say there is a problem with your SIM and it needs to be “upgraded”.

As soon as the user shares the OTP or clicks on the fake link, the fraudsters activate a duplicate e-SIM on their phone with the same OTP. This deactivates the victim’s original SIM and gives the fraudster access to bank account, email, wallet and all OTP-based services.

How to avoid e-SIM scam?

The Indian Cyber ​​Crime Coordination Center (I4C) of the Government of India has suggested some precautions to avoid such cases.

• Do not share OTP with anyone, even if the caller claims to be a company representative.
• Do not click on unknown links or e-SIM upgrade messages.
• If you notice any abnormality in your network or your SIM suddenly stops, contact your telecom operator immediately.
• File any cyber crime complaint immediately on cybercrime.gov.in.

Also read:

Now you can call the entire group in one tag on WhatsApp, know how the new feature will work