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CBI Dismantles Bulk-SMS Phishing Network Tied to 21,000 Illegal SIMs

Investigators traced the service through the DoT’s Sanchar Saathi portal, leading to seizures of servers, cash, cryptocurrency.

Overview

  • The CBI arrested three suspects — Sonveer Singh, Maneesh Upreti and Himalaya — under Operation Chakra-V targeting cybercrime infrastructure.
  • A case was registered against Lord Mahavira Services India Pvt. Ltd., which the agency alleges ran the system enabling mass phishing messages.
  • Searches in Delhi, Noida and Chandigarh uncovered active infrastructure including servers, communication devices, USB hubs, dongles and thousands of SIM cards, with digital evidence, unaccounted cash and cryptocurrency seized.
  • The agency says roughly 21,000 SIM cards were obtained in violation of Department of Telecommunication rules and used to push fake loan and investment offers to harvest personal and banking data.
  • Early findings point to possible involvement of telecom channel partners or employees in arranging illicit SIMs, and the platform was also used by cybercriminals based abroad.