Mumbai Cyber Police have registered an FIR against a point-of-sale (POS) operator for allegedly supplying mule SIM cards, also known as Ghost SIMs, to cybercriminals. The case was registered by the West Cyber Police on July 21 after an investigation linked the accused to SIM cards reportedly obtained using forged documents.
According to the investigation, the accused, identified as Prathamesh Chorat, allegedly procured SIM cards in the names of different individuals using fake documents originally submitted for banking-related purposes. These SIM cards were then allegedly sold to cyber fraudsters, who used them to contact victims, gain their trust through threats or false promises, and carry out organised cyber fraud.
“Fraudsters exploit the telecom point-of-sale (POS) system in India through rogue retail agents and fake customer identities to obtain illicit SIM cards. These illegally activated mobile lines, often referred to as ‘Ghost SIMs,’ are subsequently used by cybercrime syndicates to bypass biometric security checkpoints, orchestrate financial scams, and establish untraceable bank accounts,” said a cyber police officer.
Police said the investigation was supported by data from the National Cybercrime Reporting Platform (NCRP), managed by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Officials analysed complaints registered through the 1930 Cyber Helpline and identified several SIM cards linked to cybercrime cases that were allegedly sold by specific POS agents in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
Investigators found complaints linked to these SIM cards in West Bengal, Pune and Mumbai. The probe further revealed that between January 2025 and May 2026, the accused allegedly supplied mule SIM cards to cybercriminals involved in fraud schemes such as share market investment scams, digital arrest scams, task fraud and similar online crimes.
Police also alleged that the accused was part of an organised cybercrime syndicate that deployed field agents to collect original bank accounts and SIM cards registered in the names of other individuals from different parts of the country.
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