The city police have managed to trace Rs 70 lakh that a south Kolkata hotel had lost to cyber frauds.
The police said they have located the money in multiple bank accounts in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Nellore and Mumbai.
The police said the SIM card of an authorised person of the hotel was “swapped” by means of “SIM swapping” before the cheats took control of the account of the hotel and made fraudulent transactions to the tune of Rs 70 lakh.
“The accounts where the swindled money was transferred to were immediately frozen to prevent further withdrawals. The legal procedure to refund the money to the hotel’s bank account has been initiated,” said an officer in Lalbazar.
The police said that the fraudsters first identify their target whose SIM card they want to swap and then lodge a false general diary with the police saying that they have lost that specific SIM.
“The fraudsters prepare fake identity documents to authenticate their claims before the police. Once the general diary entry is made, they take it to the telecom service provider and ask for a new SIM card,” said an officer.
Once the new SIM is issued, the old SIM card — which is in possession of the original SIM owner — is automatically deactivated.
“The fraudsters then hack the bank accounts of their target and make online transactions. The victims don’t get any alert message as their SIM card is already deactivated,” said the officer.
Restaurateur election
A restaurateur from Kolkata has been elected president of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India. Sudesh Poddar, the nominee of the eastern chapter of the federation, was elected on Thursday. The annual general meeting and executive committee elections were held under the chairmanship of a court-appointed observer in Delhi.
“The industry has seen its most challenging times over the last couple of years and it’ll be my endeavour to work towards creating a conducive environment for the hospitality sector,” said Poddar.