[DCEite]

Have you been recently getting:

1. Anonymous calls from international numbers ? Specially Whatsapp calls ?

2. Unsolicited requests on Whatsapp offering "Like Videos to Earn money" and other such offers?

3. SMSs offering pre-approved loan with exact loan amounts ?

4. Did you notice searching for the customer care of any brand results in many "fake" call centre numbers ? There are many Twitter accounts mushroomed in last couple of weeks impersonating Customer Care centre hotline of companies like PayTM.

If answer to any one of the above is Yes, you are not alone !

There seems to be sudden onslaught of Spams and Scams for mobile users in India.

Wonder what gives to such exponential growth of spammers suddenly.

Lets use this thread for awareness, prevention and solutions.

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[GhostGrid]

I am getting too many WhatsApp calls from Indonesia (+62). But what I have noticed is that if I put the SIM on my iPhone, I won't get any bot WhatsApp calls, but if I put the SIM on my Android, I start getting these anonymous calls on WhatsApp.
However, anonymous carrier calls are the same on both phones.

[Oppanna]

Originally Posted by GhostGrid

I am getting too many WhatsApp calls from Indonesia (+62). But what I have noticed is that if I put the SIM on my iPhone, I won't get any bot WhatsApp calls, but if I put the SIM on my Android, I start getting these anonymous calls on WhatsApp.
However, anonymous carrier calls are the same on both phones.

I am getting whatsapp calls from +62 numbers and i am on IOS. I was under impression that IOS was safe!

Along with the calls i am getting whatsapp messages also stating that so and so are the managers for XYZ company, i can earn Rs 150 to Rs 200 per task, all that i need to do is to like, comment and share instagram pages and youtube etc etc.

I have not dared to respond to any of these and the moment i get messages i block them.

[Bhupesh_2628]

Originally Posted by DCEite

1. Anonymous calls from international numbers ? Specially Whatsapp calls ?

Yes, receiving anonymous messages and calls on WhatsApp.

Prevention: I don't engage with them & simply block them.

3. SMSs offering pre-approved loan with exact loan amounts ?

Have been receiving multiple calls related to credit card services & personal loans. Sometimes 10 calls a day. I don't even know whether they are really employees or not. Quite difficult to make them understand that I don't require one.

Prevention: Nowadays, I simply cut call upon hearing the word "Credit card" or ignore calls that are reported as "Spam" in the caller ID or don't bother calling back on seeing "Spam" keyword adjacent to missed call numbers in the Phone app list. All thanks to Truecaller app. Install Truecaller app in case you want to filter out Spam calls in advance.

4. Did you notice searching for the customer care of any brand results in many "fake" call centre numbers ? There are many Twitter accounts mushroomed in last couple of weeks impersonating Customer Care centre hotline of companies like PayTM.

Yes, there have been multiple complaints from customers regarding fake customer care emails IDs and customer care numbers circulated on 3rd party websites not at all related to the company. Some people don't double check & straight away click on the desired link from the search results and start using them.

Awareness and Prevention: I receive SMS from the bank telling me that these 4-5 numbers are our official banking numbers in case of any assistance & to not refer any other banking numbers. Lookout for SMS from bank. One tip is to simply go to your desired company website & look for "Contact Us/Customer Care/Support Services" sections & take email IDs and phone numbers from there.
If you want to engage with them on Twitter, then always tag their official accounts that have high number of "Followers", checking their tweets and accounts having blue colored tick symbols.

Nowadays, banks have started sending emails to account holders sharing tips on how to be aware of Pharming attacks and protecting ourselves from financial fraud. Emails related to Security awareness. Definitely worth reading those emails to bring awareness amongst ourselves & to our loved ones.

[DCEite]

Unfortunately even the educated and technical savvy folks are falling into the trap:


https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/.../100217065.cms

[SoumenD]

Probably they too have started automation in their field, thats why the sudden spurt

Anyway I simply block the numbers and move on. Can't do much about carrier calls as unfortunately truecaller doesn't work properly in iPhones. Daily 10-15 such marketing/fake calls have become a part of life now.

[GhostGrid]

Originally Posted by Oppanna

I am getting whatsapp calls from +62 numbers and i am on IOS. I was under impression that IOS was safe!
I have not dared to respond to any of these and the moment i get messages i block them.

Fortunately, I haven't received any WhatsApp calls on iOS yet. I always choose to ignore these calls as my only optimism is that if the caller is genuine and in dire need, they will message or email me.

Originally Posted by DCEite

Unfortunately, even the educated and technical savvy folks are falling into the trap

Greed can make anyone stupid. It was written all over that it was a scam, yet he went ahead with it.

[GForceEnjoyer]

The unknown international WhatsApp video calls have suddenly spiked in number for me recently. I'm getting double-digit numbers of them on some days despite blocking every single number that's called me so far! I barely even use WhatsApp so I was very confused when I started getting constant notifications of missed video calls. I wonder what sort of sinister scams these are.

I should probably get Truecaller to help filter out spam whenever possible. One time, I was waiting for a friend to give me a missed call so I could save their number, but I got a badly timed spam call from someone who was "calling on behalf of XYZ bank." I had time to kill so I simply asked the caller for their employee number and watched (well, heard) the chaos unfold on the other end. A stunned silence at first and then some muffled talking, rustling paper, some yelling and finally the caller just cut the call! What a menace, especially considering that not all people will be able to understand what is happening.

[GTO]

I simply cannot understand why WhatsApp won't give you a "privacy" option of only allowing calls from your contacts. This is really stupid. That being said, for a massive platform, WhatsApp has done a commendable job until end-2022 of filtering out spam. I hope they nip these new problems in the bud.

[Dieseltuned]

This has truly become a huge menace to our society.

I urge all our esteemed members to educate themselves and your parents/grandparents, elderly neighbours who are not so tech savvy / gulible to fall for such scams.

I did a 15 minute pep talk with my parents and keep them updating on all modus operandi I hear on social media/news.

I particularly find the one scam where the person impersonates a police officer very disturbing. What level of cheating/crime has creeped in our society that these scamsters are not even afraid of impersonating our law enforcement agencies !!

Steps i have taken is :

1. Install truecaller (atleast filters all spams)
2. Block any such caller immediately
3. Educate your people (parents/neighbours/elderly) about these scams.

stay vigilant folks !

Regards
Diesel

[Happysmiles]

My Iphone is in do not disturb mode every day 2 pm to 4.30 pm everyday since last maybe 8/9 years, when the maximum spam calls would come. I can afford to keep my phone in DND due to the nature of my work. Spam now , due to automation can come anytime and even on Sundays.
Truecaller on Iphone does not work perfectly every time, like Andriod.
My strategy is to politely say "no thanks , not interested." Keeps me Sane. Then I go on Truecaller -Block and Report.
Now with Whatsapp International Spam Miss Calls, which i received couple of times , I wonder what next level games these scammers will play.
Ohh yes, I was lucky last week to have received the good old Spam SMS saying -I have been chosen to get $2000000.00 for the purpose of helping the poor in India.
I seriously wonder how people fall for such scams. Just last week read, that a Bank manager lost lakhs in a similar Scam.

[PearlJam]

I don't think that this is a recent phenomenon.

I've observed that I suddenly start getting spam calls, almost 5-8 a day, for a few days. And then, silence after that for a few months, and then the whole cycle repeats. This leads be to believe that phone numbers get leaked from specific points of contacts (like when you give your "real" phone number in places you cannot avoid - like service centers, educational institutions, etc). So different people could start getting junk calls at different points in time.

When asked for your phone numbers at random irrelevant places (like logbooks at shopping malls, apartments, etc), either refuse, or simply omit a random digit when filling up the entry. Minimize places that could lead to leaks.

Immediately block and also "report" numbers that are spam, through the call app, so that it contributes data back to the community.

I've heard some people say that "I'm recording this call for lodging a complaint". Basically, playing the same tape back at them. That immediately leads them to cut the call.

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

Steps i have taken is :

1. Install truecaller (atleast filters all spams)

Note that Truecaller itself is alleged to be selling your details. This is anecdotal ofcourse. An good alternative to Truecaller is the built-in app in most of the newer phones that provide the same functionality. I do know that Samsung and Motorola provide this.

[Kashief]

More than spam calls I receive a lot of automated marketing or loan/credit card calls nowadays. That too after swiping my Card be it online or shop purchase for amount more than 5k. My thumb rule is not to attend call from unknown numbers. I attend it when I expect it.

[RavSam]

Originally Posted by GTO

I simply cannot understand why WhatsApp won't give you a "privacy" option of only allowing calls from your contacts. This is really stupid.

I have seen the Xiaomi phones to have settings in Whatsapp to allow calls only from Contacts. Not there in my Samsung phone.