Mumbai: After getting 6 missed calls, businessman loses Rs. 1.86cr
Missed calls from unknown numbers often don't bother us but six such missed calls cost a Mumbai businessman Rs. 1.86 crore. V Shah, a businessman from Mahim, who received six missed calls at around 2 am on December 28, is now a victim of SIM swapping, the latest con technique to cheat cell phone users. Here's more on this.
Shah calls back in morning, finds SIM deactivated
One of the six missed calls showed the dialing code of the United Kingdom (+44). Shah tried to call back in the morning, but to his utter surprise, he found his SIM was deactivated. Upon inquiring, the mobile service provider informed him that his SIM card was blocked at his own request. Shah got worried as he never made any such request.
Shah visits bank, finds Rs. 1.86cr stolen through 28 transactions
Thereafter, Shah immediately visited his bank branch only to know that Rs. 1.86 crore has been stolen from his account. The bank told him that the money was transferred to 14 accounts through 28 transactions across the country. The bank tried to retrieve the money, but was able to acquire only Rs. 20 lakh. The rest was gone.
'Never imagined that the cheats will steal with such ease'
Shah was shocked to realize how easily he was duped. "My company's bank account is linked to my mobile phone, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that the cheats will empty my account with such ease," Shah told media.
Police suspect conmen hacked Shah's unique number to access it
It was also learned that the request for SIM replacement had been filed within the company at 11.15 pm on December 27, whereas Shah received the missed calls at 2 am on December 28. An FIR was filed in the BKC Cyber Crime Police Station. Police said they suspect the conmen accessed Shah's unique SIM number, which he doesn't share with anyone, via hacking.
Every time one visits unsecured web-connections, personal details get compromised
The police explained that a person's details are compromised if he or she ever opens a fake website of their bank account. "Your data is accessed by scamsters every time you access unsecured web connections. We suspect Shah may have accessed one such email or app," a police officer said, implying that's how the conmen got their hands on his number.
Previously, enterprise duped of Rs. 50L due to SIM swapping
The officer said that after getting access to Shah's unique number, the scamsters might have initiated a SIM swap. "To ensure he doesn't suspect anything, they called him late in the night when his phone was on silent mode," he said. A similar case occurred in Ghatkopar, when an enterprise was duped of Rs. 50 lakh after their accountant's SIM card was swapped.
