London man jailed for £200,000 cryptocurrency SIM-swap fraud

Ajay Shinjin, 25, has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for his involvement in a SIM-swap fraud scheme that resulted in the theft of nearly £200,000 in cryptocurrency.

Shinjin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and transferring criminal property. Investigators found that he received over £44,000 of the stolen funds, which he used to fund luxury holidays in Dubai, a high-end apartment in Canary Wharf, and gold-plated teeth grills.

The fraud involved criminals taking control of victims' phone numbers by transferring them to SIM cards under their control. This allowed them to intercept one-time passcodes sent by banks and cryptocurrency platforms. The investigation followed unauthorized activity identified by BT in November 2021, which helped police trace the devices used in the scheme.