Bhubaneswar: The crime branch on Thursday alerted people doing bank transactions on mobile phone about SIM card swap fraud.

Though no such cases has been reported in the state so far, the police have advised users not to share personal information such as customer ID, credit/debit card details with anybody, including bank officials and customer care executives of service providers.

The police said the frauds contact potential victims on their mobile phone and pretend to be their mobile service provider or bank official. Then they ask for sensitive information such as ATM card number and PIN.

The fraud then approaches the operator and gets the SIM blocked with a fake reason such as loss or theft. Then, they visit the mobile operator's retail outlet with a fake ID proof posing as the genuine owner and gets a new SIM issued in the owner's name.

"This happens within hours and the real owner often fails to notice that the SIM has stopped working. The fraudster then generates the one-time password required in financial transactions using the owner's banking information. Since this OTP is received on the new SIM held by the fraud, the money can be transferred to the criminal's account," said a police official.

Additional director general of police (crime branch), Santosh Kumar Upadhyay said: "If the number stops working for longer than usual, immediately contact the mobile operator to find out the reason. Regularly check credit and debit card statements and transaction history." he said.

Police also advised people not to switch off smart phones in the event receiving of numerous unknown calls because it could be a strategy to divert the attention of the user to get the SIM swapped.