[saubi2299]

Originally Posted by swiftez

My share of two major encounters till date.

BHARTI AXA policy revival scam

Like every other tele-caller for insurance company, got a call from some random person saying they are calling from BhartiAxa and mentioned the policy holder's name (my mom's name) and details. Not sure from where they stole her correct personal info.

What a coincidence, posted a similar experience without reading yours.

[JediKnight]

Originally Posted by professortarzan

A couple of weeks ago, I got a call from a number claiming to be from 'Telecom Department'. Apparently, someone has registered an FIR against a (different) mobile number, which has been registered somewhere in Mumbai using my address proof. Because of this, all the numbers linked to me would be disconnected within 2 hours, cue number one.

Darn I got the same call. IVR message "This is a call from telecom department. All numbers would be disconnected in two hours...". I cut the call right at this point.

Wondering why this sudden upsurge in scam calls. I have a feeling that there is connection to the lack of sales of two-wheelers/cheap cars. There is section in Indian society that is hurting very badly economically. A consequence of "K" shaped recovery? Probably these are youngsters who are educated but not able to get a decent paying job to survive in an Indian metro. With the upsurge in living costs and inflation. Hence resorting such kind of tactics.

[professortarzan]

Originally Posted by JediKnight

Darn I got the same call. IVR message "This is a call from telecom department. All numbers would be disconnected in two hours...". I cut the call right at this point.

Oh right! The most important part was the interactive IVR when I picked up the call. It gave me choices and asked me to select a number for assistance, which routed to the lady I mentioned at first.

Edit: What you said is probably right. Scammers are becoming more intelligent day by day.

[Neeraj_S]

Get a lot of WhatsApp messages from +62 numbers starting with either “Hi, are you free ?” , “Hey, Do you have 5 mins” etc. I have never replied to them but I am sure these will offer ways to make money. I block them seeing the first message.

Just today I got two calls from a normal India number which was a recorded message saying hello two times and then saying “This is the HR for XYZ company ( don’t remember actual name). This is the point when I cut the call.

It is sad to see that our contact numbers and other details are readily available for spamsters and scammers.

I am fully planning to change my primary number and only give it to my family. For other numbers will enable the auto reject feature from unsaved numbers in iPhone. Will keep the older number active and will provide it everywhere I need to provide a number for any service.
Have been thinking about this for some time now but the thing stopping me is that I have my current primary numbers in n number of places like bank accounts, investment apps, Aadhaar and many other places. It’s hard to remember where all to get the number updated.
Has anyone tried this approach? Does it work ? Logically it should avoid having any scams and spam on the new number not shared anywhere.

[Piston_head]

Ever since I started looking for jobs using the job portals like Naukri, I started getting many spam calls and messages. Most of the messages are outright vague, but they still try their luck to trap someone.

Below is an example of one such spam, they look totally fake. But they keep sending these kind of messages everyday hoping that we will fall to their scam.

[alexgv]

Originally Posted by Neeraj_S

the thing stopping me is that I have my current primary numbers in n number of places like bank accounts investment apps, Aadhaar and many other places. It’s hard to remember where all to get the number updated.
Has anyone tried this approach? Does it work ? Logically it should avoid having any scams and spam on the new number not shared anywhere.

The source of scams could very well be due to mobile number available with bank account or investment apps. So you would be back to square one in few months. This is just a theory it will be good to know if this really is the case if you decide to try this route.

[bvasista]

Reading this thread, reminded me when I(my wife) lost Rs.3000 for shopping 3 sarees from an online portal (kalyani silks is the name if i remember correctly)

1. During October, 2020 when covid was still going on, my wife with half sleepy eyes at around 11.30 PM found out a website which listed out good sarees, reviews and comments as well.
2. Ordered 3 sarees worth Rs.3000 and opted for cash on delivery.
3. I told - good job ! (my mind was happy that I escaped taking her to shopping and handling the kids while she is busy)
4. On the day of the delivery, by luck (or lack of it) she had to go out, and told me to give the cash and take the package.
5. I did not bother to open the package at delivery time and was busy with my office work after accepting the delivery and paying the cash
6. When she came home, opened the pack - Behold !! 3 sarees probably worth of Rs. 300 were there
7. She tried to get in touch customer care with only one option- via wats app chat, she was getting standard responses but no concrete resolution regarding the return
8. Then I checked the package - there was no from address
9. Then checked the website - I showed all these to her so that it is easy for us to identify there is something wrong with the site
-- All the comments were the same and repeated for multiple sarees, after about 5 or 10 comments on each saree listing
-- The same rate for all of the sarees
-- No proper contact us - No Address, Gmail ID listed & number for wats app chat only
11. As expected, customer care responses stopped and I lost Rs.3000 rupees
12. Pinged Hyd Police Cyber cell about this and also sent feedback to Google. Contacted the courier company (Delhivery), escalated to see if I can get an address but "As per policy we are not allowed to inform you the From Address"
13. Did not see the site again after a few days
14. I thanked GOD because the loss was for Rs. 3000 and not something huge

P.S:
1. To this day I keep mocking about her "online shopping". From that day, she makes sure to order from well known sites but not from random sites landing up on google search
2. Atleast got 3 sarees - which then after a washing test were not sarees anymore

[bvasista]

Originally Posted by Piston_head

Ever since I started looking for jobs using the job portals like Naukri, I started getting many spam calls and messages.

Similar thing happened to me way back in 2016 in USA. I was searching for accommodation options to a new place I was about to move. Registered in sulekha.com with my number & email address.

The very next day I got a call from 911 (emergency number in USA) and the other person was stating I had a tax to be paid from last year. Cops are on the way to arrest me and mentioned my office address too !! Initially I was surprised but then after couple of minutes, cut the call because I know this kind of scam was going on at that time. I then called up 911 back and explained about the call. They confirmed that they would never call someone like that.

My colleague also got a similar call from 911 and we were in office. He was really tensed up and was walking up and down. We were hearing the conversation and confirmed that it is a scam call again and assured him to cut it down and not to worry

[invidious]

Originally Posted by JediKnight

Darn I got the same call. IVR message "This is a call from telecom department. All numbers would be disconnected in two hours...". I cut the call right at this point.

Same one yesterday whilst I was driving. In my case this was the 3rd one in a span of 20 mins with the first 2 being for stock advise and real estate. So by the time this one came, I was pretty annoyed, already stuck in traffic. So I spoke to the lady and let out the choicest of abuses. It was therapeutic.

[fhdowntheline]

I recently got a couple of calls from supposedly legit Insurance companies that I have a policy payment done "x" no of years ago, and the premium has not been renewed yet. The same amount, same no. of years of the policy date, different companies. Anyone who may have forgotten how many insurance policies she/he has may be tempted to respond lest there be a problem. Beware !

[kirans]

Originally Posted by alexgv

The source of scams could very well be due to mobile number available with bank account or investment apps. So you would be back to square one in few months. This is just a theory it will be good to know if this really is the case if you decide to try this route.

Yes, this will happen. Eventually. I have my bank and important accounts associated with a second number I never use for calls. No one has the number and it doesn't have WhatsApp associated with it. But over time, the Bank employees themselves seem to propagate the number to others (Insurance, Loan etc) and I do get some amount of spam. But definitely not as much as the main number. The thing I like about it is that any bank related message that comes to my primary number, is definitely suspicious because nothing is associated with that number. It's a simple method. Of course one has to manage two SIMs but that is easy enough these days.

[bravo82in]

1. I typically avoid answering calls from unknown numbers. Truecaller has a feature that identifies calls from common contacts as "someone you may know," which helps me steer clear of spam calls.

2. In my opinion, the most secure method to prevent banking fraud is by having a dedicated SIM card linked exclusively to bank accounts and credit cards for OTP authentication. However, this requires a smartphone since banking apps usually require the same SIM card to be inserted.

2. Avoid linking your bank accounts or credit/debit cards directly to online shopping apps. Instead, opt for scanning barcodes and paying through platforms like Paytm, which most websites now support.

3. When using apps like Paytm and Airtel wallet, refrain from linking your bank accounts or cards directly. Instead, link them to Paytm/Airtel bank accounts and add these banks as beneficiaries in your primary bank account to top up funds as needed.

4. If you have significant funds in your bank account, ensure not to have its online presence or associates cards. Visit the bank periodically or transfer smaller amounts using a cheque book to another bank with online services to mitigate potential fraud risks.

5. Avoid purchasing items from unfamiliar websites or Instagram links as they may provide substandard products and compromise your card or bank details. It's advisable to check if they have an app available on Google/Apple Store, as legitimate websites typically have associated apps with good reviews, running in thousands.

6. Never ever share your mobile number at offline stores, food joint etc. They give (peanut sized) offers and your personal details and phone number are compromised. Insist on a hard copy of the bill instead of soft copy sent on mobile. For warranty related issue click a copy of the bill and whatsapp it to yourself. Over the years my spam calls have reduced drastically, after I refused sharing details with these stores. For a mere 2000 to 5000 bucks the employees are willing to share the entire store data of customer name, mobile number and shopping pattern etc without a hitch.

[Neeraj_S]

Originally Posted by alexgv

The source of scams could very well be due to mobile number available with bank account or investment apps. So you would be back to square one in few months. This is just a theory it will be good to know if this really is the case if you decide to try this route.

Yeah. I thought so too. The dilemma is if I don’t update the new number in banks and other places I might miss a genuine call from them. Though there have been only a handful such calls ever in the past 14 years to me. This all banks on the idea that the DND will be activated in the new number and from my side I will not provide it to any site/portal or app ever. Will update here if I do take this route.

[Fuldagap]

I have never used Truecaller app on any of my phones. As some other members do it, I use separate SIMs for banking transactions and work/friends. Both have whatsapp though because all banks, brokers, MFs now use whatsapp for official updstes/OTPs etc too. The SIM linked with banks is in a separate phone that I keep at home mostly.

Google Phones's own spam filter is robust enough to keep spam calls/SMS at bay instead of using TC.
Sometimes when I have to check some number on TC, I use its website and I log in using a gmail id that has no contacts linked to it.

On my work phone I too get spam messages/whatsapp/calls sometimes because that number is shared everywhere and linked to n number of websites. The privacy features once setup properly in Android help a lot but still someone or the other sends a spam whatsapp on and off.

[RMN]

I don't have any particular incident to share but these days, the moment it's a spam call, I switch to Bixby caller assistant and leave it there. Bixby's automated intro is itself a taste of their own medicine plus I reply to them by typing something to offend them.