Berhampur: Police on Friday arrested a 33-year old man from Digapahandi for allegedly supplying pre-activated SIM cards to cyber criminals about five years ago. The accused was identified as Prasanta Behera of Digapahandi. tnnThe SIM agent had issued the card to the accused by following the mandatory KYC (know your customer) norms. He obtained the SIM on Feb 18, 2021 and immediately handed it over to the cyber criminal, police said. One mobile phone and five SIM cards were seized from the accused.During investigation, police came to known that the same SIM card was used in a major fraud in Vikarabad town, Telangana, said SP (Berhampur) Saravana Viveka M. “The fraudsters used the mobile phone number to lure victims via social media like Telegram and WhatsApp with “part-time job” offers, eventually defrauding them of over Rs 4.77 lakh,” said the SP.Acting on reports from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) regarding the illegal activation and sale of pre-activated SIM cards, the raid was conducted at a SIM selling point at Bada Bazar here, under Operation Cyber Kavach.Police said a case was registered against the accused in the Berhampur cyber crime and economic offences police station here on Feb 23 under the different sections of BNS, IT Act-2000 and the Telecommunications Act-2023.In an advisory issued to the public, SP (Berhampur) said never obtain a SIM card in your name to give or sell to another person. “You are legally responsible for any criminal activity linked to a SIM registered in your name,” he said. If you suspect your identity has been misused or you have been defrauded, report it immediately at www.cybercrime.gov.in or call the National Helpline at 1930, he added.“Be sceptical of part-time job offers received through social media which promise high returns for simple tasks or require initial investments,” he said.
