SIM swap or ‘free eSIM upgrade’ call: how the scam works and what to do
Short answer
Never share an OTP, forward an SMS or scan a code to “upgrade” your SIM or switch to eSIM. That is how a scammer gets a new SIM for your number, and with it your bank OTPs. Change or upgrade a SIM only in your operator’s own app or store. If your phone shows no network for a long time while others nearby are fine, call your operator from another phone, ask whether a new SIM or eSIM was issued, and call your bank on its official number. Report it on 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in straight away.
Checked
· sources linked under each scam
The Scam Radar card below is Aegix’s live alert for this scam; its own source is a news report. The official sources — the Department of Telecommunications, TRAI and the Reserve Bank of India — are linked under the sections after it.
SIM-swap: fake 'eSIM / 5G upgrade' calls, or your SIM killed from your own operator account
Two routes to the same theft. A caller claiming to be from Jio, Airtel, Vi or BSNL offers a free 5G or eSIM upgrade, or warns your SIM will be blocked under a 'TRAI/DoT order', and asks you to forward an SMS or share an OTP. In the newer version nobody calls you at all: the fraudster logs into your own operator account, changes the alternate contact number and files a request to deactivate your SIM. Either way your number goes dead and every bank OTP goes with it.
⚙️ How it works
In the call version the eSIM activation code is sent to your phone and the scammer needs you to read it out or forward it; once your number is theirs they reset banking and UPI passwords using the OTPs. In the account version the fraudster gets into the operator's app or self-care site, edits the alternate mobile number so the operator's own alerts go elsewhere, and submits a deactivation request - so the phone simply shows 'no service' and transaction OTPs never arrive. A companion case ran through a fake traffic-fine message and an APK install, after which call forwarding was switched on so verification calls were answered by the fraudster. Because the handset stays silent instead of filling with alerts, the theft is usually noticed only when a balance is checked. A SIM obtained in your name can also open your email, and through it your trading account: in a case reported in Mumbai in November 2026, the login code for an investor's demat account went to his email, the email was taken over with a fraudulently obtained SIM for his registered mobile number, and shares worth Rs 4.58 crore were sold without his consent and Rs 1.71 crore of penny stocks bought; cyber police froze Rs 2.86 crore of shares and arrested a suspect.
🚩 Red flags
Any request to forward a message, share an OTP or dial a code to 'upgrade' your SIM
'TRAI' or 'DoT' calling you personally about your number being blocked - they do not
Your phone shows 'No service' or 'SIM not provisioned' for an hour or more while others on the same network nearby are fine
A message or email from your operator saying the alternate contact number on your account was changed, or that a SIM deactivation or replacement request was received, when you asked for neither
Bank or UPI transactions on your statement although no OTP ever reached your phone, or call forwarding switched on in your settings that you did not set
A password-reset or new-login alert for your email, or a demat or trading login you did not make, around the time your SIM stops working
✅ What to do
Hang up. Upgrade or replace a SIM only inside the operator's official app or at a store.
If your signal disappears for more than about an hour, call the operator from another phone and ask whether a deactivation request or an alternate-number change was logged on your account, and have both reversed.
From a different device, freeze net-banking and UPI and check recent transactions before restoring the SIM; turn off any call forwarding you did not set.
If you hold shares, also call your broker to block trading on your demat account, and change your email password from a safe device.
Check which numbers are registered in your name at sancharsaathi.gov.in (TAFCOP) and report suspected fraud there (Chakshu).
Report on cybercrime.gov.in or 1930 within the first hours, which is when a transfer can still be held.
Under the Department of Telecommunications’ instructions of 31 August 2023, a replacement SIM may be issued only through e-KYC or Digital KYC, and it is activated only when the name details and photograph taken at the counter match the operator’s records for that number. SMS, incoming and outgoing, is barred for 24 hours on the new SIM. DoT reminded operators in June 2025 that this process has applied to every type of subscriber since 1 December 2023. Separately, TRAI’s portability rules stop a number from being ported to another operator for seven days after a SIM swap or replacement (in force since 1 July 2024), to curb porting through fraudulent SIM swaps. RBI’s BE(A)WARE booklet describes the fraud itself: criminals get a duplicate SIM, including an electronic SIM, for the mobile number linked to your bank account, often by posing as mobile network staff offering a free SIM upgrade, and then use the OTPs.
🚩 Red flags
A caller offering a free 4G, 5G or eSIM upgrade who asks for an OTP, a code from an SMS, or for you to forward a message
Your phone shows no network for a long time in a place where it usually works
An SMS or email from your operator about a SIM replacement, eSIM activation or account change that you did not ask for
Bank or UPI alerts stop arriving although you are expecting them
✅ What to do
No network for a long time? Call your operator from another phone and ask whether a duplicate SIM or eSIM was issued on your number.
Call your bank on the number printed on your card and freeze net banking, cards and UPI until the SIM is back in your hands.
The 2026 rules: a biometric check before a SIM or eSIM is replaced
The Department of Telecommunications notified the Telecommunications (User Identification) Rules, 2026 on 21 August 2026. They define a SIM to include an embedded SIM (eSIM). The operator must carry out a biometric identification of the user before it replaces a SIM, and before it disconnects a number at the user’s request, and check the details against its own records. The Government can also require operators to send an alert on your existing connections asking you to confirm such a request. If you reply that it was not you, the operator must suspend the new SIM, or put the disconnection on hold or restore your number. Operators were given three months from the date the rules took effect to set up the systems, which the Government can extend by up to three more months, so the exact steps can differ by operator for now. Earlier, in August 2023, the Government had already allowed face authentication alongside fingerprint and iris in Aadhaar e-KYC.
✅ What to do
If you get an alert about a SIM, eSIM or disconnection request you did not make, reply that it was not you and call your operator at once.
Switch to eSIM only inside your operator’s official app or at its store, never through a link, QR code or code that a caller sends you.
If money has moved, tell your bank at once and report on 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in. Under RBI’s customer-protection rules, the share of an unauthorised loss you carry depends on how fast you tell the bank: when the fault lies neither with you nor the bank and you report within three working days of the bank’s alert, your liability is zero.
Already paid, shared a code or your screen? Call your bank on the number printed on your card and block the card.
Then call 1930, India’s national cyber-fraud helpline, and report it on
cybercrime.gov.in the same day.
Questions people ask about this message
What is a SIM swap scam?
A criminal gets a new SIM or eSIM issued for your mobile number, so your calls and SMS, including bank OTPs, go to his phone instead of yours. He then uses those OTPs to reset your banking, UPI or email passwords. Your own phone usually just shows no network.
Does my operator call to upgrade my SIM to 5G or eSIM?
Treat any unexpected upgrade call as a scam. RBI’s BE(A)WARE booklet says fraudsters pose as mobile network staff offering a free SIM upgrade to get the details they need. Change or upgrade a SIM only in the operator’s official app or at its store, and never share an OTP or forward an SMS to a caller.
My phone suddenly shows no network. What should I do?
If it lasts a long time where your phone usually works, call your operator from another phone and ask whether a new SIM or eSIM was issued on your number. Then call your bank on the number printed on your card to freeze net banking and UPI, and report on 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in if any money has moved.
Can a scammer port my number to another operator after a SIM swap?
Not straight away. Under TRAI’s portability rules, in force since 1 July 2024, a porting code is not issued if it is requested within seven days of a SIM swap or replacement. A replacement SIM also cannot receive or send SMS for its first 24 hours under DoT’s instructions.
What changed for eSIM in 2026?
The Telecommunications (User Identification) Rules, 2026, notified on 21 August 2026, treat an eSIM as a SIM and require a biometric identification before a SIM is replaced or a number is disconnected at the user’s request. The Government can also make operators ask you to confirm such a request on your existing number. Operators have up to three months, extendable by three more, to set this up.
Can Aegix help with SIM swap scams?
Aegix lists this scam in its Scam Radar, and its Scam Checker reads any upgrade SMS or link you paste in; the free web scam checker works in your browser too. It cannot see your operator account, so a sudden loss of network is still the sign to act on.
Let the phone warn you next time
Aegix is an Android security app from CryoSim, free to install, no account. Its Scam Radar lists the scams spreading in India,
filtered to your state; Scam Checker reads any message or link you paste in; and scam-SMS warnings (Aegix Premium, first month
free for new users) flag a scam-looking SMS as it arrives. Aegix flags the message; it does not delete it.
