A doctor from South Mumbai lost nearly ₹11 lakh after falling victim to an elaborate eSIM-based cyber fraud, exposing a growing trend in digital identity theft. The South Region Cyber Police have arrested a 23-year-old man, identified as Rohan Waghmode, who received part of the stolen funds. Officials believe the crime is linked to a larger cyber network using fake eSIM conversion calls to gain access to victims’ banking and digital identities.
The victim, a doctor in his fifties, received a call on September 14 from a person posing as a representative of his telecom service provider. The caller offered assistance in converting his physical SIM into an eSIM, claiming it would provide better network flexibility and convenience.
Trusting the caller, the doctor followed the instructions and opened his telecom provider’s official app to initiate the eSIM process. When doctor received a One-Time Password (OTP), he unknowingly shared it with the fraudster. The caller assured him the eSIM would activate within 24 hours, but that never happened.
Two days later, the doctor received a notification that his email account had been accessed at 8:39 a.m., followed by a password change. When doctor checked his bank account, he discovered that ₹10.5 lakh had been transferred out through multiple IMPS and UPI transactions.
A team led by DCP (Cyber) Purushottam Karad, along with senior inspector Nandkumar Gopale and inspector Suresh Bhoye, traced the money trail and arrested Rohan Waghmode, an office boy at a private hospital in Pune.
Waghmode confessed that he had given his bank details, passbook, chequebook, and debit card to cybercriminals, in exchange for a 5 per cent commission on each transaction. About ₹34,000 from the stolen funds was credited to his account before being quickly transferred elsewhere.
Police suspect Waghmode is part of a mule network that helps fraudsters move stolen money across various accounts to hide its origin. Efforts are ongoing to track down the main conspirators operating from multiple cities.
Investigators warn that eSIM-based scams are becoming a new tool for cybercriminals. Unlike traditional SIM swaps, these scams allow fraudsters to remotely hijack a user’s mobile identity, blocking them from receiving OTPs or transaction alerts until major financial losses occur.
Experts urge users not to share OTPs or personal details over the phone, even if the caller seems legitimate. Authorities have advised the public to verify SIM-related updates through official telecom apps or stores, contact banks immediately if their SIM stops working, and enable multi-factor authentication for important accounts.
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