Gadget / Tata Docomo asked to pay Rs 8.2 lakh to victim of SIM-swap fraud

The telecom company initially argued that it was due to a lax on the part of the ICICI Bank. Bank responded that it had a three-level security feature and it wasn't possible to do so. The SIM-swap technique is used by the fraudsters to steal your money from the bank account. Telecom company has to pay Rs 8.2 lakh as compensation to Utekar for issuing a duplicate SIM to fraudster. Criminals had used fake documents.

Reportedly, the duplicate SIM helped the fraudsters to rob Rs 7.8 lakh from Utekar's bank account via net banking. The criminals were able to activate a new SIM card with Utekar's mobile phone number. The criminals had used fake documents to acquire a duplicate SIM from the telecom company.

The telecom company initially argued that it was due to a lax on the part of the ICICI Bank as the money could not be withdrawn without the login ID or password to which the bank responded that it had a three-level security feature and it wasn't possible to do so.

"ICICI Bank seems to have followed proper guidelines and security measures in this case. It would be only right to state that the reversal of amount fraudulently transferred would have been possible to a large extent provided the SIM card was active. In the final analysis, it is the negligence on the part of respondent no. 2 (Tata DoCoMo) that has led to this fraudulent transaction," the report cites the court's order.