Beware! Sim cards, bank accounts for hire

Cyber fraudsters buy Sim cards and bank accounts of poor, uneducated people, who seldom raise questions. In fact, they will be happy to receive some money. But the happiness comes to an abrupt end when trapped in a police case.

Investigations into cyber-fraud cases often lead the Kerala police to ordinary, innocent people in North India, with no connection with the crime. How does it happen?

We contacted an agent of an online platform that offered fake Sim cards and bank accounts for a price. While negotiating, he was asked about the possible issues the legitimate owner might cause if we bought their Sim or bank accounts.

His reply was shocking. “Such an incident has never occurred in the two years’ of my career. These people are poor villagers, and since they are uneducated, they don’t know much about the issues. Moreover, we have generously paid them.”

There are rackets that pay for the identity documents of the poor villagers. Sim cards are procured and bank accounts opened using these documents. The excuse they tell the legitimate owner will be something else.

These Sim cards and bank accounts are used for committing cyber crimes. If the police register a case, the legal owner — whose documents were used — becomes the accused.

International numbers from Rs 300 onwards

The WhatsApp missed calls originating from country codes +81, +55, +62, etc., need not necessarily be from a foreign country. The necessary technology is available to give a missed call or message by using a US number from Kerala itself.

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