Hyderabad: Hyderabad City Cyber Crime Police launched Operation Octopus 3.0 against a ghost SIM network linked to cyber frauds and arrested 66 accused during raids conducted across 13 states. Police said the accused were connected to 76 cyber crime cases involving fraud worth Rs.101.87 crore.
Cyber Crime teams identified 1,194 ghost SIM cards and formed 18 special teams to carry out a week-long operation across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Punjab. Police seized 544 SIM cards, including 432 sealed SIMs and 112 activated SIMs.
Among the arrested accused were 44 users of ghost SIM cards, 20 Point of Sale agents or telecom promoters and two SIM suppliers. Police said several accused illegally activated SIM cards by misusing customer biometric details collected during SIM purchases or mobile number portability procedures.
Investigators found that agents misled customers by claiming network or server issues and repeatedly collected fingerprints to activate additional SIM cards without consent. Police also found that camps were organised in remote villages and tribal areas to target illiterate and poor residents for biometric collection.
Ghost SIM network used for cyber fraud operations
Police said cyber criminals converted illegally activated SIM cards into e-SIMs and transferred them to foreign-based gangs using advanced technology. These Indian mobile numbers were later used to create WhatsApp and Telegram accounts, fake matrimonial profiles and dating app accounts to cheat victims.
Officials said the same numbers were also used in sextortion and digital arrest scams. Since the mobile numbers belonged to India, victims trusted the callers and transferred money.
Cyber Crime DCP Aravind Babu and ACP Shiva Maruthi supervised the operation along with special investigation teams. Hyderabad Police said they would soon hold meetings with senior officials of Airtel, Jio and Vodafone Idea to strengthen KYC norms and improve monitoring of PoS agents.
Police also planned to approach central agencies including DoT and TRAI to tighten regulations and improve real-time verification during SIM issuance and mobile number portability procedures. Officials advised citizens not to share Aadhaar details, biometric information or OTPs with anyone and urged people to verify active SIM cards linked to their identity through the Sanchar Saathi portal.
