Bengaluru: A 27-year-old resident of Bengaluru lost ₹7.2 lakh from his bank account in a SIM-swap fraud, despite not clicking any suspicious link, receiving any scam call or sharing information with fraudsters. The case, reported by The 420, has raised concerns over telecom-level cyber frauds that allow criminals to hijack mobile numbers and intercept OTPs without direct interaction with victims.
Mobile Number Taken Over Through Duplicate SIM
According to cybersecurity experts, the fraudsters allegedly gained control of the victim’s mobile number by transferring it to a duplicate SIM card without his knowledge. Once the number was ported, incoming calls, OTPs and banking alerts were redirected to the attackers.
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Unlike phishing or conventional OTP frauds, the victim did not share confidential details. The breach reportedly took place at the telecom network level, making it difficult to detect in real time. By the time irregular account activity was noticed, the money had already been siphoned off.
Experts Warn Against SMS-Based Authentication
Cybersecurity specialists said SIM-swap frauds are becoming more common as banking and financial platforms continue to depend heavily on SMS-based verification. Once criminals gain control of a mobile number, they can reset passwords, approve transactions and bypass two-factor authentication systems linked to SMS delivery.
Former IPS officer and cybercrime expert Prof. Triveni Singh said such cases show a shift in cyber fraud tactics, with attackers increasingly targeting telecom processes and identity verification systems instead of relying only on victim manipulation. He warned that control over a mobile number can effectively give fraudsters control over a person’s digital identity.
Investigators believe the accused may have obtained the victim’s personal details through data leaks or social engineering before initiating the SIM-swap request. After the duplicate SIM was activated, the original SIM stopped working, but the victim reportedly mistook the disruption for a routine network issue.
Users Urged To Watch For Network Loss
Cyber experts said the danger in SIM-swap fraud lies in the silent takeover of communication channels. Victims often become aware of the fraud only after receiving alerts on secondary devices or noticing unauthorized withdrawals, by which time the money may have been routed through several accounts or wallets.
Experts have advised users to move away from SMS-based OTPs for sensitive transactions and use authenticator applications such as Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator, which generate time-based codes directly on the device.
They have also recommended enabling SIM lock or SIM PIN features on smartphones. Users have been cautioned to treat sudden and unexplained loss of mobile network service as a warning sign and to immediately contact their telecom provider to verify whether any SIM replacement or porting request has been made.
