Police have managed to freeze a sum of Rs 4.65 crore out of Rs 7.5 crore lost by the Mumbai-based owner of a private company Steel Trading Firm in a SIM swap cyber fraud, officials said.
In SIM swap fraud, a form of identity theft, scammers trick the network provider into linking the mobile phone number of their target to a SIM card they have in possession and access to OTPs sent by the bank to the genuine person.
It is a form of account takeover where cyber crooks gain access to a victim’s phone number. This allows them to assume control over the victim’s mobile identity, enabling unauthorized access to personal online accounts linked to the number. Officials said on January 21, 2025, that the private firm owner was duped for Rs 7.5 crore by cyber fraudsters in suburban Kandivali on January 20, 2025.
An official said the scammers accessed the company’s bank account through a SIM swipe and made multiple unauthorized transactions. The money was then transferred to various bank accounts in a few minutes.
When he realized he had been cheated, the company owner dialled the 1930 cyber helpline and informed them about the fraud. The victim also sent an email with details about the unauthorized transactions, he said.
Officials of the cybercrime branch immediately contacted the nodal officer of the bank concerned and also simultaneously posted the complaint on the NCCRP (National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal).
The cyber police team managed to freeze Rs 4.65 crore out of the total amount lost by the victim within four hours of the fraud. However, the official said most of the remaining amount was withdrawn by the fraudsters.
