CHENNAI: The cyber crime wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) on Wednesday arrested two people for allegedly monetising diversion of international calls to their mobile phones using SIM boxes. The arrests were made after BSNL filed a complaint of illegal exchange with the police commissioner’s office earlier this week.
According to the police, Zakir Hussein (19) and Salman Sharif (29) created two setups resembling a telephone exchange at two houses in Aminjikarai, and scammed telephone networks using SIM boxes. A SIM box is used to pass off international calls as local calls, and helps the user bypass charges levied on international calls. The issue came to light after the telecom department notified BSNL of 150 suspicious mobile numbers in Aminjikarai that were used for illegal telephone exchanges.
BSNL’s complaint noted that the exchanges in question were in operation since October and resulted in losses. Based on the complaint, the police searched two houses in Aminjikarai and arrested the two accused. They also recovered four SIM boxes, 130 SIM cards, two modems, one laptop, and four mobile phones. The duo was remanded in judicial custody on Thursday.
A probe revealed Sharif’s history with a similar case in Vellore but evaded arrest by getting anticipatory bail.. Then he came here and got the four SIM boxes and 130 SIM cards from a man named Mahmud, from Bangladesh, who also paid the duo Rs 35,000 for the setup. Mahmud supervised from Bangladesh.