e-SIM fraud : All you need to know about e-SIM and SIM swapping fraud

Awareness is necessity

Ever heard about the place, Jamtara? Many of you must have seen the famous series "Jamtara: Sab ka number ayega" on Netflix. It is located near Jharkhand's capital Ranchi. This place has become a hub for phishing and bank fraud.

Recently, Jamtara has come in the limelight because this place's fraudsters have started a new type of crime/ fraud, i.e. e-SIM fraud.

Do you know what eSIM is?

e-SIM stands for the "Embedded Subscriber Identity Module." You don't need to buy a telecom operator's SIM card separately and insert it into your mobile. e-SIM is a part of your smartphone's hardware. This e-SIM chip comes pre-installed on your smartphone. Its working is the same as our standard SIM, which saves information like IMSI number, some contact details etc. e-SIM is re-writable means previous telecom operator related details can be erased and new information can be written again by a new telecom operator.

This type of fraud can empty your bank accounts in seconds. This e-SIM fraud racket has started to spread all over India in recent times. Five people have been arrested in connection with the e-SIM racket. Police have suspected that they have access to over 300 nationalized and private bank around Punjab, Jharkhand, Haryana, West Bengal, Telangana and Bihar.

What are the tricks used by fraudsters to attack?

Below is the modus operandi of the e-SIM fraud racket explained by INDIATV news in their article.

1. Jamtara's fraudsters first collect a series of mobile numbers. Then these thugs send a message stating that "your card will be blocked in 24hours if KYC details are not updated."
2. Then they contact them via call imposing as customer care executive of any telecom operator that provides e-SIM service. In India, it is mainly airtel.
3. Users are then asked to forward an email ID (sent by the fraudsters) to that particular telecom operator's customer care.
4. The email ID belongs to the scammers so that they can register their email IDs to access the user's bank information. Once the message is sent, an auto-generated message is received regarding the e-SIM activation.
5. Then another message is received containing a link to a Google form asking users to fill in details for the KYC updating. Once users fill in their details that include the bank account number.
6. The e-SIM is activated, and a QR code is sent to the fraudsters (via email) to access the user's phone number as the physical SIM card gets blocked.
This way, the scammers can use the phone number to get OTPs and enter the banking details in e-wallets to steal money from people.

Recent cases related to e-SIM swapping fraud

In India, people aren't aware of e-SIM, and fraudsters are taking advantage of this. The scammers are swapping the physical SIM which is present in the victim's mobile device with eSIM of the same number that will be with scammers.

The cyber cell of Hyderabad has received more than three complaints received between 14/07/2020 to 22/7/2020 regarding the same type of fraud. Modus Operandi is the same in all cases. At last, the victim received an auto-generated message from Airtel SIM card got blocked, and an amount of Rs.9, 20,897/- has been deducted from his bank accounts. Similar kinds of two cases occurred in the same month where the amount of Rs.5, 94,799/- and Rs.1, 03,990/- were deducted from the victims' accounts. Hence, the victims have requested the police to take necessary action.

How to stay safe from eSIM scam?

1. Don't believe any fraudulent messages. Telecom companies never send such messages until you have requested to convert your SIM to e-SIM.
2. Never submit bank details, passwords through Google forms or over calls.
3. If someone calls you to ask about KYC details or update it, DO NOT give any details.
4. Read auto-generated emails and messages carefully.
5. If any updates or changes are to be done in KYC, visit the nearby store.
6. Never share your computer screen or mobile screen with unknown by using Any desk or Team Viewer applications.
7. DO NOT forward any emails or messages as instructed by the fraudsters. If you feel it is any scam or suspicious activity, contact the customer care and send "NO SIM" to 121 to stop the e-SIM activation process.

So the motive behind this article is to spread awareness about this kind of eSIM scams. As cybercriminals are becoming very smart day by day, they are using new ideas to make people fool.