A preactivated SIM card racket busted by the Crime Branch in which 49 5G preactivated SIM cards were seized. These SIM cards were issued in the name of individuals without their knowledge.
Police believe that over 1200 such SIM cards activated in the name of unsuspecting people were sold in the market.
Police have arrested Qayyum alias Bhura Rathod of Fatehwadi, Mohammed Talah alias Kabir Mirza Shaikh of Shahpur, Ajay Raval of Ramol and Jayesh Rajeshbhai of Vastral in the racket.
The preactivated SIM cards were used for illegal marketing and possibly for illegal betting.
Police have appealed to people to be cautious when buying SIM cards at POS, particularly if the operator asks for biometrics twice. “They may ask you for your picture and biometrics on the pretext that the initial procedure failed.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has used facial recognition tech to block 6.76 lakh SIM cards and 10,296 mobile phones in Gujarat for their involvement in cybercrime. The devices blocked in Gujarat were reportedly part of a larger country-wide effort to crack down on cybercrime with 1.92 crore SIM cards being blocked across India.