A youth has been detained in connection with mobile banking misuse. The individual in concern- a 22-year-old Saroj Diwali apparently used SIM card duplication and used mobile banking to transfer money.
The police have held Diwadi who originally hails from Kavre, Panchkhal-06, currently living in Gokarneshwor-02 Nayapati, Kathmandu.
The arrested is alleged of transferring the ownership of another’s SIM card into his own name and activating mobile banking. He has been accused of forging the SIM card ownership to transfer money from the original account holder’s bank account to his. In total, it is reported that he transferred Rs 6 lakh, 2 thousand, 5 hundred and 48 from various bans to his account using mobile banking apps and digital wallets.
After it emerged that he was duplicating SIM cards and misusing mobile banking to transfer amounts from others to his own account, the police apprehended him. Accused of fraud, he will now be processed at the District Police Office, Teku for further investigation.
SIM Duplication!
Transferring ownership of another of a SIM into another’s is SIM duplication. If a “stranger” is doing it without the original owner’s knowledge, it can attract law proceedings.
If for legitimate reasons, there is a provision for reproducing a SIM for the rightful owner. For this, both Nepal Telecom (NTC) and Ncell have different procedures. As per the existing regulation, with some documents, proof, and paperwork, an original owner of a SIM can clone the SIM number in case the existing one is worn out, missing, or lost.
But the youth accused here transferred the SIM ownership to his own without any knowledge of their right owners. Operators also need to be more careful in approving ownership transfer or registration which helps discourage such criminal activities.
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This also compels us to be careful using SIM cards, mobile banking, or digital wallet apps. We never know, how someone might gain access to our accounts and misuse them for their own benefit.