The linking of Aadhaar number with mobile SIM cards would enable the subscribers to use a host of services, including financial transactions.
Sharing the concern of 38 lakh pre-paid mobile phone subscribers hit by the ban on their SIM cards in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said genuine users should not be affected as a small service group did not do proper verification while issuing such cards. Abdullah said he would hold talks with the Centre, including Home Minister P Chidambaram, to resolve the issue as the blanket ban on the use of pre-paid SIM cards is not the answer.
The raids were linked to a sophisticated organised investment fraud scheme targeting unsuspecting individuals through fake mobile apps and WhatsApp groups.
Among the seizures made are three active hand grenades, two active detonators, one foreign-made pistol and 13 cartridges of foreign make, the officer said.
Since June 2023, Gohil, a resident of Lakhpat taluka of Kutch, had shared photos and videos of various BSF and naval facilities in Kutch district via WhatsApp with the Pakistani spy for money, said Superintendent of Police (ATS) Siddharth Korukonda.
Assets Worth Rs 40 Lakh Seized
The phone could be in your hand but another person, possibly a militant or a sympathiser, could be using its 'hotspot' facility, say police officials, red-flagging the latest modus operandi of terrorists in Kashmir and warning unsuspecting civilians about the trouble they could land in.
Security agencies have identified 11 Indians who spied for Pakistan. Look at what they did for a living.
The submission was made before additional sessions judge Hardeep Kaur, who extended the judicial custody of all the six accused till March 1.
The police had claimed that the SIM card used by the accused was bought by submitting a fake Aadhar card which led police to Surendran.
Amid concerns of espionage, the Rajasthan administration has intensified security measures along the India-Pakistan border, with authorities in Jaisalmer and Sri Ganganagar banning the use of Pakistani SIM cards.
A family in Noida was duped of over Rs 1 crore after they were kept under 'digital arrest' for five days by unknown people posing as government officials. The scammers threatened the family with arrest by making video calls and claiming to be investigating money laundering and other crimes. This is a new type of cyber fraud where the accused pose as law enforcement agency officials and use video calls to intimidate their victims.
A court in Kerala has sentenced five men from Uttar Pradesh to life imprisonment and an additional 40 years in prison for the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl from Kerala five years ago. The accused, who were migrant workers residing near the victim's home, were involved in the crime that occurred in 2020. They enticed the girl with the promise of a SIM card and then subjected her to sexual assault at various locations. The court also directed the convicts to pay compensation to the victim.
Fraudsters duplicate SIM cards to hack into bank accounts.
The Jammu and Kashmir police have arrested a BSNL employee for providing SIM cards on fake names to the militants in north Kashmir Sopore town.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches at seven locations across India in connection with a Rs 350 crore crypto ponzi scam. The accused, operating seven modules in different cities, allegedly lured investors with promises of high returns on cryptocurrency investments. The CBI seized digital virtual assets totaling USD 38,414 in cryptocurrency wallets, cash amounting to Rs 34.2 lakh, and digital evidence, including mobile phones, laptops, tablets, hard disks, and memory cards. The agency registered the case under the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.
A 39-year-old software engineer in Bengaluru lost Rs 11.8 crore to fraudsters who impersonated police officials and claimed his Aadhaar card was being misused for money laundering. The victim was threatened with "digital arrest" and tricked into transferring money to various bank accounts over a period of time, believing his family would be arrested if he didn't comply. The fraud occurred between November 25 and December 12, and police have registered a case under the IT Act and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for cheating and cheating by impersonation. Further investigation is underway.
ATS has found that Labhshankar Maheshwari, a native of Pakistan who was granted Indian citizenship in 2005, had agreed to be part of the conspiracy to expedite the visa process for him, his wife and two other family members wanting to visit the neighbouring country to meet relatives.
The revelation may put the police in a spot of bother considering the fact that the information available with them states that Kaleem had allegedly secured 50 SIM cards.
It said two of the key accused were Islamic State of Iraq and Syria radicals, who used fraudulently obtained "Indian SIM cards and Indian bank accounts" besides "various Indian and Bangladeshi Identity documents downloaded from the dark web (which is accessible only through specialised browsers) in carrying out their nefarious activities.
At least 16 people were killed, and 75 injured after the billboard collapsed in an unexpected dust storm in Mumbai on Monday.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai's) latest push to review its existing spam regulations and expand the definition of "commercial communications" is driven by an urgent need to tighten controls on autodialers or robocallers, and bulk messaging, according to official sources. This move, they said, comes in response to a surge in complaints against unregistered telemarketers (UTMs), which soared to 750,000 in just the first half of 2024, underscoring the necessity for a comprehensive overhaul of the government's anti-spam measures. Last week, Trai released a consultation paper aimed at revisiting the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (TCCCPR-2018), the government's legal framework against spam.
The arrested men have been identified as Abdul Rehman alias Abdul Rahman and Mujibur Rehman alias Mujibur Rahman Altham Sahib, both from Thanjavur district, a statement issued by the NIA said.
The accused had obtained mobile phone SIM cards in fake names and used to take betting amounts from people through QR codes, the official said.
According to Khemka's family members, his son was also shot dead by criminals six years ago in Hajipur.
The police claim businessman Ashok Sao paid Umesh Yadav Rs 400,000 to kill Gopal Khemka last Friday.
Vicky Nanjappa takes a look at the looming menace of SIM card cloning
Earlier, the Home Ministry had raised concerns over the use of Aadhaar number as a single source of identity verification.
Four militants belonging to different proscribed outfits in Imphal Valley were arrested in separate operations by police. Among those arrested were Thokchom Ongbi Anita Devi, a PLA member, Moirangtham Ricky Singh of UNLF-K, Laishram Bishorjit Meitei of PREPAK, and Yumnam Premjit Meitei associated with Kangleipak Communist Party (Apunba).
The arrested BSF man, identified as Mohammad Sajjad, is a native of Sarola village in the Rajauri district of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, who was deployed in the 74 BSF Battalion at Bhuj in July 2021, the ATS said in a release.
A probe into the biggest drug haul of 6,000 kg methamphetamine in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands has shown that the Myanmarese smugglers were using the Starlink satellite internet services for navigation through the mid-sea, a top police officer said on Thursday. Authorities suspect that the drug consignments may be linked to notorious international cartels, such as Tse Chi Lop's (the Chinese El Chapo) or Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes' (El Mencho) operations.
The killings of Gopal Khemka and his son Gunjan, seven years apart, bear a striking resemblance, reports M I Khan.
An NIA spokesperson said several digital devices, including mobile phones, SIM cards and memory cards, along with incriminating documents like pamphlets of the proscribed Naxal outfit were seized during the searches.
Seventeen persons, including four hailing from Taiwan, were arrested by Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch for allegedly operating a nationwide 'digital arrest' racket, a Gujarat police official said on Monday.
UPI-related frauds have accounted for a cumulative loss of Rs 2,145 crore across 2.7 million reported incidents.
After producing Darshan and three others before the court, the police stated that they were not making the names of the eyewitnesses public citing their safety.
The officials said Pakistani intelligence operatives have adopted the modus operandi of investing in illegal call exchanges that switch Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls to normal Indian mobile calls.
The NIA has charge sheeted Mumbai resident Amaan Salim Shaikh, a key accused in a conspiracy by Pakistani intelligence operatives to honey trap Indian Navy personnel to gather secret information on defence establishments, an official statement said on Friday.
The majority of these calls originate from foreign-based gangsters or their associates, using Voice Over Internet Protocol or international phone numbers, they said.
