[montsa007]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

My connection is on Full DND (Vi) and even then I regularly get spam calls for donations, investments etc.

I don't engage with them and just cut the call and block/report on my google phone dialer app.

I don't use truecaller and never have.

I also happen to have Full DND on Airtel & Vi, still spam calls get through. Through some casual browsing a month ago, I found an app by Trai called "TRAI DND 3.0 (Do not Disturb)" (Playstore, not sure if they have for Ios). Whenever I accidentally lift up a telemarketing call, I ensure to report it in the app (Only catch is you have to lift the call, you cannot report a number you haven't spoken to), once reported your mobile provider sends an sms with complaint number & expected date of resolution. I do get followup sms stating the number I reported belonged to a telemarketer, I remember 3 of the actions taken by the operators,

1. Given warning & put on usage cap for a month.
2. Second offence, given warning & put on usage cap of 6 months.
3. Repeated offender, number has been disconnected.

Altough it may not mean much to the telemarketer as they can get multiple sim cards, but after starting to report these instances, I get a maximum of 3 to 4 calls a day, previously used to get 10+. I do use truecaller, but reporting these numbers doesn't require truecaller. Reporting to google may block them for you, but reporting them to Trai ensures they don't trouble others as well

Sharing below screenshots received from operator for reference.

[sdp1975]

Read about scamming using AEPS ( Aadhar Enabled Payment System) today. Scamsters clone fingerprints ( usually from State property/land registration offices) and then use it to siphon off money from bank accounts. Went ahead and locked my biometrics on the uidai website today.

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-pr...r-bank-account

[Oxy]

Why is OLX Autos calling me every now and then asking whether I want to sell my car?

[montsa007]

Originally Posted by Oxy

Why is OLX Autos calling me every now and then asking whether I want to sell my car?

Did you happen to,
-Log in on OLX and search for cars?
-Install any new app on your phone related to cars & entered your details?
-Googled for car valuation, or anything close to that?
-Search on facebook for cars?

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by Oxy

Why is OLX Autos calling me every now and then asking whether I want to sell my car?

Google and Facebook (Including Instagram) are shamelessly selling off our data as leads. Just search something and in a minute probably the entire world wants to sell you that.

I generally use Private mode in Safari now, it has reduced this behavior of lead generation to some extent.

[speedmiester]

Height of arrogance.
Bajaj is not a NGO doing charity, they give loans with interest. These are no freebies. I will be first to opt out of their pesky calls from Bajaj and never use them.

Opt out of pesky calls, then don't come to us for products: Sanjiv Bajaj

[binand]

Originally Posted by Oxy

Why is OLX Autos calling me every now and then asking whether I want to sell my car?

Probably they sourced a database of car owners in the city legally or illegally. Often this is by way of someone switching jobs and taking with them the customer database.

Google et al are unlikely to share actual contact information (mobile number etc.) with Ola. Not only is it business suicide, it also reduces the value of that data for them.

Originally Posted by AtheK

I generally use Private mode in Safari now, it has reduced this behavior of lead generation to some extent.

You might want to visit this site and take the test there to validate this:

https://coveryourtracks.eff.org

Here is a Wired article that explains the technique and the threat it poses:

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/brow...king-explained

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

Height of arrogance.
Bajaj is not a NGO doing charity, they give loans with interest. These are no freebies. I will be first to opt out of their pesky calls from Bajaj and never use them.

Opt out of pesky calls, then don't come to us for products: Sanjiv Bajaj

It is unbelievable that a sane business leader would say this!

I don't think you will be the first one to opt out though, I will beat you to it

[Vishal.R]

Link to some reports about few of Cyber crime hotspots,

https://english.jagran.com/lite/indi...s-why-10078928


https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/from-i...545-2023-05-19

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/stor...516-2022-10-12

[montsa007]

Did any of you guys ever watch "Scammer Payback" on Youtube?
Apparently all of the call center databases are based in India (Atleast in the videos/shorts I saw) and majority of them in Kolkata.
They show the various new methods these crooks use to target victims.

The newest methodology I saw was sending letters to victims from big brands, claiming they (victims) have won some jackpot & need to pay shipping amount, once the payment is made either an empty box is sent or victim is simply blocked off.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

Height of arrogance.

"You will see in three months on our website and our web app, an option, you click it, and we will never bother you again. You have the right to be forgotten with us,"

"But then make sure you never come back to us for our products and solutions,"

Oh My. That sure reeks of arrogance to me and it is quite unbelievable to see a head honcho say something like that. Does he not realize that there are plenty of other fish in the sea?

[anjan_c2007]

I received an email in my Gmail box yesterday from a fraudster purporting to be a Geek Squad person. It had an attachment that can be viewed below.

Bill99336801212.pdf

The mail (id skopashuwe@gmail.com) text is as under in this screenshot and the quoted text below :-

anjanc2009,
We have received payment for invoice reference number and deducted it from your account on the date specified. For more information, please refer to the invoice below or contact me.

I blocked the impersonator and cyber fraudster's id also reporting it as spam, upon verifying about the real Geek Squad and their activities. And mind you, the mail got popped into my Primary Inbox and not into Promotions or Social categories.

Some brief facts as in Wikipedia about Geek Squad :-

Geek Squad, Inc. is a subsidiary of American and Canadian multinational consumer electronics corporation Best Buy, headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. The subsidiary was originally an independent company founded by "Chief Inspector" Robert Stephens on June 16, 1994, and offers various computer-related services and accessories for residential and commercial clients. In 2002, they merged with Best Buy. The Geek Squad provides services in-store, on-site, and over the Internet via remote access, and also provides 24-hour telephone and emergency on-site support. Geek Squad no longer works solely on computer-related devices. It now diagnoses issues in and repairs all consumer electronics, as well as appliances.

Geek Squad technicians have been caught on numerous occasions searching and copying pornographic content stored on their clients' computers without permission. When asked about the incident, Geek Squad founder Robert Stephens refused to discuss the topic and focused on whether bloggers should be considered true journalists.

First and foremost Geek Squad operates in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico and possibly The Netherlands. It has no business here in India. It is now under the umbrella of Best Buy.

Their URL:-

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/electro...t1528819595254

And a Geek Squad email from the above moronic Gmail id raises prima facie suspicions. The logo is copied from the original though. Anyone can even copy a General Motors (GM) logo to prepare fake invoices or memes.

And the contact number to facilitate the commission of fraud is mentioned as (1-805 (372)-1373). The 805 area code in the US is located in southern California and covers Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, and parts of Kern counties.

Lastly, I have never ever ventured into any business relationship with Geek Squad ever. The fraudsters could have lately got a rich haul of email id's from some other fraudster located somewhere else. Hence FRAUDSTER + FRAUDSTER (double engine) are now on the prowl to loot the innocents.

Beware of such fraudsters. Prevention is better than cure.

[DK_accord]

One of the prominent scam going on is Telegram task scam. The MO for this scam is like:
1. You will receive a WhatsApp message , SMS, Telegram message from where scamster will try to lure you about how they have a job for you from where you can earn 3-5000 on daily basis.
2. They will give you some tasks to perform such as post some Google reviews, like few YouTube videos etc
3. Once you complete the task they will pay you some amount quickly to your bank account. It would range in between 150-500 rupees.
4. Now they will ask you to join a telegram group where they have multiple team members of scamster will already be added.
4. They will again ask you to perform a few tasks and they will again pay you some amount.
5. Now they will say that merchant task needs to be done , so for that if you will invest some amount they will give huge return on that such as they will ask you to pay them 1000 rupees and they will return you 1300/1500 rupees. Other scamsters in the group will post screenshots of how they have received lacs of rupees in return.
6. Now after this activity, most of the innocent gullible users comes under the impression that it's a easy way of making money and they will be a millionaire soon and forget why greed is bad for humans
7. Now they will again ask user to deposit the money, showing that you will make big returns , however now they won't return your money and they will keep on asking for more money in name of merchant tasks.
8. Users intend to keep paying the amount under the impression that they will be able to make a killing and they end up paying lacs of rupees before being able to figure out they have been SCAMMED!!

After looking at above MO , you might feel that only illiterate/rural/aged people will fall for this trick however one of my close friend end up losing 15 Lacs to this and he is an IT guy. A quick google search will show you how many folks have ended up losing crores of rupees.

Only advice is to know that there is no free lunch in this world!

[condor]

Calls from Bajaj Fin and Mannapuram/Muthoot etc are easy to handle: I just say my cousin is a manager there. They dont go further. But then, two cousins are actually in 2 of these companies

[SidTheChamp]

I politely deny all such calls to sell insurance, overdraft, investment plan etc. and then block the number. These are telemarketing and they are a nuisance, but nothing to worry there.

Have got some WhatsApp also with job and earning offers. Said no and block.

More worrisome is blackmail scams. Thankfully never picked up any WhatsApp video calls.
Once got call from fake TRAI but thankfully he only disconnected. At that time I was not knowing about blackmail scams