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An executive of telecom firm Airtel’s store at Tanuku (Andhra Pradesh) has been arrested by the Telangana Cyber Crime sleuths for abetting a SIM swap case.
The clique transferred an amount of ₹1.85 lakh from the account of Ramakrishnam Raju, a resident of Miyapur (Hyderabad), from his HDFC Bank account.
The Cyber Crime police arrested six persons in connection with the crime and produced them before a local court.
Airtel response
When approached, another Airtel executive said the telecom firm has a policy of zero tolerance in matters relating to violation of code of conduct defined for its employees and partners.
“We are extending full assistance to the police authorities in this matter,” the executive said in a statement.
Modus operandi
Cyber sleuths have said that the Airtel staffer at Tanuku explained to one of the accused how to get a SIM (of the victim) replaced. Following his advice, the accused created a fake email ID and sent a mail to the Airtel authorities, appealing them to replace and reactivate SIM card.
Gaining access to the victim’s SIM would help the criminals know OTPs (one-time passwords) and other info that the banks send to its customers.
The cops said that the accused had transferred money from the account of complainant by initiating OTP-based transactions.
The cops have asked the telecom service providers not to issue and replace SIM cards without verifying the original documents, K Srinivas, Inspector of Police (Cyber Crimes), who is investigating the case, has said.
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