The crime branch nabbed a 22-year-old youth named Vijaysinh Jhala, resident of Aniyol village of Talod taluka in Sabarkantha on October 9 after police learned that he was about to deliver some sim cards to someone. Further into investigating they found that the gang for which Jhala worked had around 20,000 sim cards.
It was revealed during questioning that the gang is in the illegal business of selling bank accounts, digital wallets, OTT app access credentials by using the dark web and stealing data from telecom companies or banks.
The gangs such as these are rampant in rural areas of north Gujarat— mainly Sabarkantha, Aravalli and Banaskantha districts. The data and identity are stolen from the mainly illiterate and technologically naive people. A large amount of data is stolen from telecom companies or banks.
Working in layers, these gangs deploy various tactics to evade the cops. They are using the Telegram messaging App groups to reach out to the persons with offers to sell sim cards, bank accounts or digital wallets. A separate team is employed to carry out background checks of those who show interest. Once the credentials are checked, there will be another team to deliver the sim cards.
The fraudsters are using the inactive sim cards or dormant bank accounts of innocent people for illegal activities such as cheating or digital fraud. They are enough smart to not be traced out easily. Though Police are getting equipped with cyber cells and techno-savvy personnel, the crooks are still one step ahead.
