Sim Swap Technique
Why in news :
- Yesterday, a businessman who is based in Delhi lost 50 lakh rupees to some unknown scammers who might have used the sim swap technique.
- He had not given any personal information like OTP or account number. He received multiple calls some of which he answered, some he didn’t.
What is Sim-Swap technique :
- A SIM-swap is a type of account takeover fraud in which criminals gain access to a victim’s phone.
- The hackers manage to get personal information of a potential target through phishing (fake mails), vishing (fraudulent phone calls), smishing (fake text messages), etc.
- The hackers then use all personal information to create a fake ID, impersonate the victim, and trick the telecom service provider into issuing a duplicate SIM card.
- They mostly do so on the pretext of losing the phone, or the old SIM card getting damaged.
- Once the duplicate SIM starts functioning, the original SIM gets blocked.
- With the help of the duplicate SIM, they can get a onetime password (OTP) and other alerts required to carry out financial transactions through the victim’s bank account.
Syllabus : Prelims + Mains; GS3 – Science and Technology