Bangalore: The Malappuram Cyber Crime Police has apprehended Abdul Roshan, a resident of Hubli, Karnataka, in connection with a fraudulent SIM card operation. During the arrest in Madikeri, Karnataka, authorities seized 40,000 counterfeit SIM cards and 180 mobile phones.
Abdul Roshan's arrest followed an investigation conducted by Malappuram District Police Chief S. Sasidharan and Cyber Inspector I.C. Chitharanjan. The investigation was initiated after a cyber fraud case was reported involving a victim from Vengara, who suffered significant financial losses. The victim had engaged with a share market website advertised on Facebook, and cyber criminals, posing as customer care representatives, convinced the victim to deposit large sums of money into various accounts. However, the victim neither received any returns nor recovered the deposited funds. The cyber criminals managed to extort Rs 1.08 crores from the victim.
Abdul Roshan is allegedly involved in a fraudulent SIM card business, operating through a network of mobile shop owners across the state. These shop owners obtain customers' fingerprints to activate counterfeit SIM cards, which are then sold to Roshan for Rs 50 each. Roshan subsequently provides these SIM cards to cyber criminals. This illicit activity not only violates individuals' privacy but also poses a serious threat to national security.
The illegal SIM card trade has been linked to terrorist and anti-national activities in the past. In a previous incident, terrorists were found to have obtained SIM cards using counterfeit copies of innocent individuals' ID cards.
In 2023, the Tamil Nadu Cyber Crime Police busted a cyber-crime gang in Coimbatore, seizing 22,735 SIM cards, along with laptops, desktop computers, mobile phones, SIM modem boxes, and ATM cards with chequebooks. The mastermind of this operation, Syed Raghib Khursheed, was arrested in New Delhi.
Similarly, in June 2023, Assam police arrested Mustakin Ali and Ashraful Islam in Morigaon district, who were found in possession of 24,000 fake SIM cards obtained using fake IDs.
In April 2024, Haryana police arrested 42 cyber criminals involved in fraud cases across the country. Among the accused were Deen Mohammad, Asif, Arif, Sarfaraz, Saqib, Ijaz, and Munajir.
These cases underscore the existence of a vast network within the country, posing a significant national security risk. Terrorists could potentially access fraudulent SIM cards, implicating innocent individuals whose documents have been compromised without their knowledge or involvement.
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