Six persons were arrested by the cyber crimes wing of the Cyberabad police for running an organised interstate cyber fraud racket that siphoned off nearly ₹77.75 lakh through vishing (voice phishing) calls, SIM manipulation and OTP diversion frauds.
The accused, identified as Selim Mondal, Abdul Alim SK alias Mittu, Saiyad Hasim Reza alias Tippu, Mijanur Rahaman Shaik, Bansidhar and Mehebub Alam Ansari, were apprehended from West Bengal on transit warrants and later remanded to judicial custody.
Investigation revealed that the accused posed as officials from the Citibank Prestige Credit Card division and contacted victims under the guise of Department of Telecommunications verification procedures. Victims were persuaded to convert their e-SIMs into physical SIM cards.
Police said the gang then couriered preloaded mobile devices containing malicious applications to victims. Once the SIM cards were inserted into these devices, OTPs and banking alerts were diverted to the accused, allowing them to gain unauthorised access to bank accounts and carry out fraudulent online transactions.
Seized items | Photo Credit: By Arrangement
During police custody, investigators recovered ₹15 lakh in cash from the residences of the accused in West Bengal.
Among the items seized were six mobile phones, a laptop, five SIM cards, Citibank labels, Motorola stickers and an AUX voice transmitter cable from the possession of the prime accused, Selim Mondal. Police also recovered ₹13 lakh in cash and a mobile phone from another accused, Saiyad Hasim Reza and ₹2 lakh along with a mobile phone from Bansidhar. Three more mobile phones were seized from the remaining accused.
Police advised the public not to share OTPs, banking credentials or SIM-related information with unknown callers and warned citizens against inserting SIM cards into unverified courier-delivered devices.
Further investigation is underway.