Hyderabad, May 20 (IANS) In a nationwide crackdown on cyber fraud enabling infrastructure, Hyderabad Police targeted the Ghost SIM network under Operation Octopus 3.0 and arrested 66 persons in 13 states, Hyderabad Police Commissioner V. C. Sajjanar said.

Cyber Crime Police Station (CCPS) Hyderabad identified 1,194 Ghost SIMs linked to cases registered in CCPS. Eighteen trained teams were deployed across 13 states over a continuous seven-day operation

Of this, 544 SIMs were seized in the city by our Special Task Force of CCPS. These include 432 sealed SIMs awaiting deployment to Cybercrime activities.

Building on the success of Operation Octopus 1.0 (targeting mule account holders) and Operation Octopus 2.0 (targeting bank officials abetting cyber fraud), the Hyderabad City Police — Cyber Crime Police Station launched Operation Octopus 3.0, targeting the Ghost SIM network that provides the anonymity backbone for organised cyber criminals across India, Police Commissioner Sajjanar said on Wednesday.

Ghost SIMs — mobile connections activated fraudulently in the names of unsuspecting or exploited subscribers — are the primary communication tool used by cyber fraudsters to mask their identity. Identifying and dismantling this network was the core objective of this operation, he said.

The arrested include 44 Ghose SIM holders, 20 PoS agents/telecom promoters and two Ghost SIM suppliers. Ten of the arrested PoS agents/telecom promoters were from Vodafone Idea, seven from Airtel and three from Jio.

The 66 persons apprehended are collectively linked to 76 cybercrime cases across India involving a fraudulent amount of Rs 101.87 crore.

Police found during the investigation that during MNP eKYC verification, certain PoS agents activated additional SIM cards in genuine customers’ names without their knowledge, converting them to eSIMs for dispatch abroad. It was also observed that PoS agents offered free activation to less-digitally-literate individuals, diverting SIM cards to distributors on commission for use in overseas fraud.

Customers were also monetarily induced to surrender SIM cards, which were supplied to fraud networks on commission. Agents induced customers to share OTPs, enabling the creation of fake profiles on WhatsApp, social media, dating, and matrimonial platforms.

Bulk SIM camps were run in villages under the guise of free distribution, targeting illiterate individuals to exploit their Aadhaar identities.

Sajjanar said that Operation Octopus is part of a larger and sustained effort to drive reform across touchpoints in the financial ecosystem that is acting as enablers to cybercrime.

Over the past six months, Hyderabad City Police has been continuously engaging at the highest levels of the banking and regulatory establishment to jointly find solutions and make stakeholders more responsive and sensitive.

With the Ghost SIM network now squarely in focus, Hyderabad City Police will convene structured meetings with Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) — Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea — at their senior leadership levels. Just as banks were called upon to find innovative solutions to the mule account problem, TSPs will now be expected to work closely with City Police to come up with stringent protocols to curb the Ghost SIM problem within their distribution chains, he said.

Hyderabad Police will also approach the Department of Telecom, TRAI and other public stakeholders to ensure plugging of procedural loopholes, KYC strengthening, etc., to ensure that access to Ghost SIM cards for illegal purposes becomes incrementally difficult for cyber criminals.

The entire operation was conducted under the close supervision of V. Aravind Babu, DCP Cybercrimes and Siva Maruthi, ACP Cybercrimes, with teams comprising officers and staff from CCPS Hyderabad, Detective Inspectors and their teams, and Armed Reserve staff.

–IANS

ms/uk