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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday arrested an area distributor of a Mobile operator in Bihar's Vaishali district for allegedly issuing a large number of SIM cards fraudulently and facilitating their use in an illegal SIM Box operation linked to cyber-enabled frauds.

Investigation and Seizures

The agency conducted searches at 10 locations in Vaishali district of Bihar and Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha as part of its investigation. During the searches, CBI officials recovered incriminating material, including mobile phones, laptops and SIM cards, from the premises.

The case pertains to an illegal SIM Box operation detected in Supaul district of Bihar last year, which was subsequently transferred to the CBI by the Bihar government.

According to the CBI, more than 1,300 SIM cards were recovered from the premises where the illegal SIM Box operation was being run. Analysis of the data associated with these SIM cards indicated their connection with at least 73 cybercrime cases reported across India, including cases involving the 'Digital Arrest' modus operandi.

Modus Operandi of the Fraud

The CBI said its detailed analysis identified several suspected Points of Sale (PoS) from where the SIM cards had been issued. A majority of the SIM cards were found to have been issued from Bihar and Odisha.

More than 700 SIM cards were allegedly issued by the arrested Airtel area distributor by misusing the credentials of over a dozen Points of Sale in Vaishali district, the agency said.

The investigation also found that several subscribers were unaware that SIM cards had been issued in their names. According to the CBI, their identities may have been misused either by obtaining multiple e-KYC authorisations while they visited SIM card providers for genuine purposes or by misusing biometric data collected for other purposes.

Legal Action and Ongoing Probe

The CBI is investigating the case for alleged offences of cheating, forgery and extortion under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), identity theft and computer-related offences under the Information Technology Act, besides offences under the Telecommunications Act, 2022. Further investigation into the case is underway. (ANI)