The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked 39 point of sale (PoS) agents across India for issuing ghost SIM cards, based on an investigation into 2,200 cybercrime complaints filed on the National Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP).
The PoS agents allegedly issued 1,100 such SIM cards from Indian telecom service providers (TSPs), which bad actors used to scam people in Southeast Asian countries. The investigative agency also suspects the involvement of Indian TSPs in the activation process.
The investigation:
During the probe, the government agency discovered that about 1,930 PoS agents were issuing SIM cards with someone else’s documents without the person’s knowledge. These agents, in total, have sold around 64,223 mobile numbers based on forged documents, which the bad actors used for cybercrimes.
On May 8, 2025, the CBI filed a First Information Report (FIR). In the FIR, the bureau stated, “Various PoS agents acting in connivance with Cyber Criminals, fraudsters and unknown executives of telecom service providers are facilitating them by issuing SIM cards which are subsequently used in illegal activities involving digital arrest, impersonation, fraudulent advertisement, investment fraud, UPI fraud etc., in order to cheat various victims.”
the charges:
The CBI has also included the list of booked agents. As per the FIR, 15 hail from West Bengal, nine from Uttar Pradesh, seven from Assam, four from Maharashtra, and one each from Bihar, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.
The bureau has booked them under Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000. Section 66C defines punishment for identity theft, while Section 66D provides punishment for impersonation using computer resources to cheat individuals.
Cybercriminals allegedly use mobile networks to approach potential victims. After analysing complaints on the NCRP, the CBI identified 84 PoS agents who had issued SIM cards associated with more than 10 complaints. Upon verifying their addresses, the bureau found that only 39 PoS agents were still operating. “Some of the agents of the 84 PoS were already found to be arrested by the Cyber Police of the State Police Department for issuing fraudulent SIM cards. In some of these PoS locations, it was found that the booked agents used to roam door to door to issue SIM cards.
Modus Operandi:
During its investigation, the CBI discovered the method used by these PoS agents.
“For issuing a SIM card, eKYC of the customer is mandatory, and the same has to be done by the PoS agent. When a customer visits the Point of Sale for the purchase of a SIM card, the PoS agent does the eKYC of the said customer. During the eKYC process, the PoS agent tells the customer that the eKYC has failed and requests it again. However, the PoS agent issues a SIM card during both attempts without the customer’s knowledge,” the bureau explained. The customer remains unaware that a second, ghost SIM card has been issued in their name.
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The PoS agent then sells such SIM cards to bad actors or cybercriminals for opening mule bank accounts and making fraudulent calls.
Why it matters?
The scale of such scams has been increasing over time. In March 2025, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) revealed that it had blocked 83,668 WhatsApp accounts and 3,962 Skype IDs to curb incidents of digital arrests—a form of online scam. Additionally, the government blocked 7.81 lakh SIM cards and over 2 lakh International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers as of February 28, 2025.
While the government has implemented several safeguards, such incidents continue to slip through the cracks. To counter this, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has begun employing advanced technologies. In July 2024, the DoT blocked 6.76 lakh SIM cards and 10,296 mobile phones in Gujarat using facial recognition technology (FRT) due to their involvement in cybercrimes.
Moreover, in June 2024, the CEO of the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), Rajkumar Upadhyay, stated that scammers acquiring SIM cards through fraudulent means would have their Facebook and WhatsApp accounts suspended. He added that once a fraudulent SIM is identified, the agency disconnects the associated WhatsApp and Facebook profiles as well as the linked bank accounts.
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