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Indians facing threat of SIM card cloning?

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CIOL Bureau
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BANGALORE, INDIA: Indian telecommunication companies have been warning people against calls from numbers starting with +92, #90 or #09.

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These calls, originating from Pakistan according to reports, state that users have won a lottery or even go to the extent of providing you an address to claim the prize.

"Do not respond to any unexpected calls from a number with the +92 or +375 country code," says an Airtel warning.

Also read: Beware of fraudulent calls from Pakistan

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Along with duping people with false promises of winning a lottery, a recent report released by Milind Deora, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, states that mobile subscribers in the country are facing threat of SIM card cloning.

According to the press release, nearly 20,300 complaints on SIM card cloning have been received so far. The details of the number of cases received so far are 18,547 cases from Delhi, 1738 from Punjab, 11 from Mumbai, 16 from Karnataka and one from Gujarat.

However, the  report does clarify that no such incidence has been reported so far indicating SIM card cloning is possible with the help of a single missed call.

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Also read: Vodafone warns of 'missed calls' from Pak

In the meanwhile, CIOL viewers have been complaining of a spike in the frequency of fake calls from +92 numbers.

''I got a call from a no +923049082056. I did not receive the call . I wonder how these guys got our nos,'' says Ajay, a CIOL reader.

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''Dear friends, I have also got a call from "unknown number" as displayed on my mobile screen and he asked me to call Ms. Priya (00923219527667 - lottery No.112) from SBI to claim for my money prize of Rs. 25 lakhs. She asked me for account details, which I gave, but then she asked me drop Rs. 18,750 that I didn't.

''She has a very good speech that no politicians have now a days. I will register my number in NDNC and also give my query to Vodafone. No strangers give you money without strong intentions. Please be aware of this and make people aware by explaining what happened to you. Greed is the root of all evil :),'' says another reader Vishal.

Some of the numbers, which are allegedly being used in this fraud are +923044433686, +923007355415, +923414801276, +923423128685, +923417992778, +923026393127, +923027471183, etc.

So viewers, please beware of such calls and do not hesitate to file a complaint against the pranksters involved. If you have had a similar experience, do share it with us.

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