A shocking cyber fraud has taken place in Bengaluru, where a person who wanted to upgrade from 4G to 5G network for free lost Rs 15 lakh. The fraudsters used e-SIM technique to hack the mobile number and took an instant loan from his bank account. Currently, the Bengaluru Cyber Crime Police have registered a case and are investigating.
Bengaluru, June 17: A shocking incident has come to light in which a cyber fraudster, who promised to upgrade the smartphone from 4G to 5G network for free, cheated an employee of a private company in Bengaluru of Rs 15 lakh by taking an instant loan from his bank account. A 50-year-old man, a resident of Victoria Layout, Bengaluru, has fallen victim to this network. The fraudsters completely hacked his bank account in just 30 minutes.
Highlights
- Bengaluru employee falls for free 5G upgrade, gets a huge scam.
- His SIM card hacked and gets a loan of Rs 15 lakh.
- Public warned not to share OTP or confidential details with anyone.
4G to e-SIM scam network
On June 13, at around 3 pm, the man received a call from an unknown number. The fraudster, who introduced himself as an executive of a major telecom company, lured him with the promise of upgrading his mobile SIM to 5G for free.
Believing him, the man gave the EID (Embedded Identity Document) number he asked for. Using this number, the fraudsters immediately changed the person’s physical SIM to an ‘e-SIM’ in another device of their own. The man’s mobile network was disconnected as soon as the SIM card fell into the hands of the fraudsters.
15 lakh loan in just half an hour!
Cybercriminals who gained complete control of the mobile number and email ID hacked his banking details. Then, without the person knowing, they applied for an instant loan of Rs 15 lakh through his own bank account and got the loan sanctioned.
Out of the sanctioned Rs 15 lakh. loan amount, about Rs 14.6 lakh. has been deposited in the account. The fraudsters immediately got into action and by 3:30 pm, they had transferred Rs 2.2 lakh from that account to other accounts. Fortunately, the person, who immediately realized that something illegal was happening in his bank account, immediately reported it to the bank and the cybercrime helpline and froze the account. Thus, the remaining money did not go to the fraudsters.
On June 15, an official complaint was filed at the Central Cybercrime Police Station, and the police are currently investigating the case under the Information Technology Act (IT Act) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Police have warned the public not to share OTP or any confidential numbers while changing a physical SIM to an e-SIM.