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BTC London man sentenced to two and a half years in prison for SIM card hijacking fraud
A London man was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for participating in a "complex and carefully planned" SIM card hijacking (SIM-swap) fraud, the City of London Police announced on Thursday. The fraud resulted in the theft of nearly 200,000 pounds (approximately US$265,000) of cryptocurrency.
25-year-old Ajay Shinjin, also known as AJ Marley Cruz, pleaded guilty on September 28 at the Chambers Crown Court in London to two counts: conspiracy to defraud through false representation and transfer of illegal property. He was subsequently sentenced to the above penalty.
Sinkin received more than £ 44,000 in stolen money and used the funds to enjoy luxury holidays in Dubai, purchase high-end apartments at Canada Place, and customize gold-plated braces.
Modus operandi and investigation process
SIM card hijacking refers to a criminal taking over control of the victim's phone number by transferring the victim's phone number to the SIM card under his control. After that, they can receive one-time Captcha sent by text message from banks and cryptocurrency platforms.
In early November 2021, British Telecom (BT) discovered unauthorized activity in its system, indicating that the customer's phone number had been transferred to the criminal's SIM card. BT traced the equipment used to receive the numbers, and its data provided police with clues to multiple suspects, including Sinkin. Evidence shows that Xin Jin is associated with four of the devices.
Investigation revealed that on November 2, 2021, a victim lost approximately £ 40,000 in cryptocurrency, of which Simin transferred approximately £ 27,000 to his personal cryptocurrency account. All of the approximately £ 17,000 lost by another victim went into Singin's wallet. In addition, he assisted in stealing approximately £ 8000 from the third victim's Coinbase account and approximately £ 130,000 from the fourth victim.
Sinkin was first arrested in his apartment in 2021, and then again in October 2023, as more evidence surfaced, he was arrested at Heathrow Airport on his return to London from Dubai. When questioned by police, he remained silent and made no comment.
Case Impact and Prevention Recommendations
Constable Simon Aldman of the City of London Police said: "SIM card hijacking is a complex and increasingly worrying form of crime, and this case fully demonstrates its devastating consequences for victims."
According to a report released by fraud prevention service Cifas in August this year, compared with the same period last year, the number of unauthorized SIM card hijackings recorded in the UK National Fraud Database surged by 402% in the first half of 2026. Cifas pointed out that the increase reflects the increasing use of SIM card hijacking by criminals to intercept security codes and bypass account protection mechanisms.
Mark Birchall, employee cybersecurity editor at Norton, recommends that users use authentication apps for two-factor authentication rather than relying on text messages, which can bind account access to physical devices rather than mobile numbers. He also recommends setting a separate PIN or password to mobile operators when possible and enabling account takeover protection. Some operators provide such services and can set strict verification rules for any changes to accounts.
Burchar pointed out that SIM card hijacking is one of the reasons why "mobile phone numbers may not be the best way to authenticate."
