Status: clearedChennai: CBI has booked at least 39 point-of-sale (PoS) agents for allegedly issuing unregistered “ghost” SIM cards used by cyber fraudsters to deceive people online through tactics like impersonation, fake digital arrests, and investment scams.One of the agents identified was Sadhasivam Srimulu of Sri Lakshmi Agencies, located in the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu. The remaining accused individuals are from Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Maharashtra, Bihar, Telangana, and Karnataka, according to the CBI’s economic offenses wing.The CBI said that the agents would register two SIM cards under a single buyer’s name, falsely claiming an eKYC (electronic Know Your Customer) failure during the initial attempt. While the legitimate buyer would receive one SIM card, the second, unregistered “ghost” SIM in their name would then be sold to cybercriminals. These illicit numbers are then used to open fraudulent bank accounts and make deceptive calls to unsuspecting victims.The case was initiated based on a special report that identified 64,223 suspicious SIM cards provided by Indian telecom operators that were found to be in use in Southeast Asian countries. The ensuing investigation revealed that these cards were sold by 1,930 PoS agents.Following verification with the Department of Telecommunication, the CBI discovered that at least 84 PoS agents had more than 10 complaints registered against them in the National Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP). Of these, 39 are currently active, and some have been arrested for their involvement or connections to cybercrime.“Whenever a phone number is flagged on NCRP, the telecom providers should ask the users to do the eKYC again. However, the data from the telecommunication revealed that most of the SIM cards failed in the re-verification,” the CBI statement said. The agency also indicated suspicion of involvement by telecom officials in approving these SIM cards and has included unidentified individuals from the telecom sector in the case. MSID:: 121269425 413 |