The Delhi Police has arrested a licensed telecom point of sale agent for allegedly activating SIM cards in violation of mandatory KYC norms and supplying those to cyber fraudsters operating across the country, an officer said on Sunday.
Accused Shiva was apprehended from a spot near the Hindu Rao Hospital following a technical investigation.
According to police, the accused was operating a licensed telecom outlet from a temporary roadside setup and allegedly activated SIM cards by misusing the identity documents and biometric credentials of genuine customers without their knowledge.
"The investigation was launched after intelligence inputs indicated that SIM cards issued by certain PoS agents in Delhi were repeatedly surfacing in cyber-fraud cases registered in different states," the senior police officer said.
During scrutiny, three retail outlets came under suspicion. Investigation revealed that 11 SIM cards activated through Shivam Telecom were used in at least 18 cyber-fraud cases reported from various states, the officer said.
Based on technical analysis, data profiling and local intelligence, police tracked the accused's movements and arrested him on July 2.
During interrogation, Shiva admitted that he activated additional SIM cards using customers' KYC documents and biometric details and sold the pre-activated SIM cards to intermediaries and cyber fraudsters for Rs 500 to Rs 600 each, police said.
Investigators said the SIM cards were later used by cyber criminals to contact victims, facilitate financial frauds, create digital payment accounts and conceal their identities while committing offences.
Police have seized digital records and activation documents allegedly linked to the illegally activated SIM cards. The accused was found to have one previous criminal case registered against him, police said.
Efforts are underway to identify intermediaries and other members of the network involved in procuring and distributing the fraudulently activated SIM cards. Further investigation is in progress.
