Fraudulent SIM Cards: A Growing Concern for Security Agencies

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Cross-border criminals are using forged documents.
- Pre-activated SIMs often registered under unaware individuals.
- Illegal immigrants are primary consumers of these SIMs.
- Local dealers are complicit in the forgery.
- Biometric imprints are misused to create multiple SIMs.
Kolkata, March 1 (NationPress) Mobile SIM cards acquired through forged Indian identity documents by cross-border criminals operating along India's international borders with Bangladesh, particularly in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, have emerged as a significant concern for security agencies.
According to sources from the state police, these pre-activated SIM cards are obtained through two primary methods. The first method involves cross-border criminals acquiring these SIM cards by presenting forged identity documents under the name of a non-existent individual.
The second method is even more concerning. Here, the pre-activated SIM is registered under a name of a legitimate individual who is unaware that their identity is being misused by someone engaged in illegal activities.
In nearly 99 percent of such incidents, the state police sources indicate that the individual whose name is associated with the mobile SIM remains oblivious to its use by another party.
Typically, these pre-activated SIM cards are sold to illegal Bangladeshi immigrants who enter India and stay hidden in bordering villages before acquiring fake Indian identity documents.
The SIMs registered under the names of legitimate individuals are often made possible due to the involvement of unscrupulous local mobile service dealers. When a genuine customer seeks to purchase a SIM by providing photocopies of their authentic identity documents, these dealers retain an extra copy.
Subsequently, the dealer activates another SIM in the name of the original customer and then sells it at a premium to others.
In these scenarios, errant dealers often commit forgery while obtaining biometric imprints of genuine consumers. Sources reveal that genuine customers, unaware that they should only provide their biometric imprints once during a SIM purchase, often allow dealers to collect these imprints multiple times.
These additional imprints are exploited by the unscrupulous dealers to obtain multiple SIM cards under the same name.