Bengaluru: The Karnataka Cyber Command Unit on Thursday said it busted an illegal SIM box network operating from two apartments in Whitefield division here, with investigations pointing to suspected links with digital-arrest scams, sextortion and other financial cyber frauds across the country.
Four persons have been arrested so far in connection with the case, with investigators tracing leads to Tiroda in Maharashtra over the alleged supply of SIM cards and their conversion into e-SIM profiles for use on the network.
The Cyber Crime Police Station (CCPS), Whitefield, registered a case on August 26, following a complaint by Bharti Airtel's Chief Circle Nodal Officer in Bengaluru regarding the suspected unauthorised use of Airtel SIM cards in a SIM box setup, an official release said.
A joint operation by the police and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Karnataka, led to the recovery of 10 SIM box devices from two apartments -- one in Kadugodi and the other in Pattandur Agrahara.
Six devices, each with 32 SIM slots, were seized from Kadugodi, while four similar devices were recovered from Pattandur Agrahara. The two facilities had a combined capacity of 320 SIM connections, investigators said.
The investigation has established that both facilities were set up and operated by the same network of accused, the release said.
The recovered devices are suspected to have been used to facilitate fraudulent communications linked to cybercrime activities. Their precise role and possible links to the suspected offenders are being examined.
Preliminary leads indicate that the wider network could involve financial exposure running into hundreds of crores of rupees. However, the number of victims, actual losses and the extent of the network are yet to be established, police said.
The four arrested accused are residents of Tiroda in Maharashtra's Gondia district and are suspected of involvement in activities connected with the e-SIM supply chain, investigators said.
Further investigation is underway to establish the individual roles of the accused, trace other persons involved and ascertain possible links between the SIM/e-SIM supply chain and digital-arrest scams, sextortion and other financial cyber frauds.
(With Inputs From PTI)