Cybercriminals have adopted so-called "Russian", "encrypted" or "white" SIM cards, which allow them to change phone numbers and distort the caller's voice. Motherboard was informed about this by the anonymous owner of a site that sells such "sims".
According to the seller, the SIM-cards offered by him allow forging any number at will, and for each call you can set a separate number (in this case, the interlocutor will not be able to add the caller to the black list). For example, with their help, fraudsters can make it look like they are calling from a bank phone number, or simply generate an arbitrary set of numbers so that the interlocutor cannot identify the real number of the caller. Setting up such a SIM card takes seconds, and instructions are available online.
"Russian Sims" differ in quality and functionality. In addition to spoofing phone numbers, some of them also allow you to change your voice during a conversation, for example, make it lower and chesty, or, conversely, high and shrill. Some cards are more advantageous because they are "international" and provide unlimited data.
You can buy a "Russian SIM" anonymously, without providing any data about yourself, by paying with bitcoins. "These are the most popular SIM cards in the underworld," one source told Motherboard.
The so-called encrypted mobile devices are very popular with criminals - customized smartphones whose camera, microphone and GPS have been removed. Often, manufacturers of such devices, along with a smartphone, offer their customers a "Russian SIM".
