[ViRaSh]

I've also been receiving such kind of calls for the last 2 weeks stating that there is some or the other private event at a renowned hotel in Vadodara.

My go to revert was a simple tactic that I'm out of station and won't be back anytime soon and cut the call before they can revert back or ask me further details. Next step is block and report that number.

The dealership staff at Gopinathji Kia was very much aware about these scams and had warned me multiple times during the post delivery formalities of VIN installation, delivery feedback etc. (+1 Respect)

Scams such as these are very easy to pull off. TRAI has been continuously implementing stringent regulations in the messaging industry in the form of DLT such as approval of message content, headers, URLs, links and even requiring the enterprises through which any company has opted the messaging services to be registered on DLT. Thereby creating a whitelisted chain of events through which the messages has passed making it easier to identify where the scam has started. This is first on global levels.

A Pro tip:
All the approved companies will have a 6 digit alphabetic or alphanumeric sender-id. E.g VX-ABCDEF or VG- ABC12D. The two alphabets before the hyphen can vary. Sharing a SS for reference.

Scams are usually pulled through promotional messages or by sending a direct personal message on your phone number hence the sender-id will be a 6 digit numeric or a 12 digit phone number which you do not recognise. Stay away from such messages and do not open them.

Also activate Do Not Disturb(DND) mode on your numbers so that Promotional messages are not delivered on your handset and only such companies whom you have provided the consent will be able to message you.

[itspatra]

Well I now remember around the year 2008-09 we got a call from some resort that we had won a luck draw. I was around 8- year old. I remember my father who is very alert of potential scams drove us to the resort. He clearly stated that as they invited us for a snack in a resort and no transaction of money has happened till now, there is no harm in going. They had presentations ready and brochures for resort trips at low prices. Thankfully my father smelled something fishy and even after repeated trials of convincing him to pay he backed off.

Watch this video from a decade ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6yr8W3mc38

[CJ-500D]

I was recently pestered by repeated calls from someone claiming to be from Club Resorto and telling me I am a lucky winner of some contest which they conduct in collaboration with MSIL.

Since I bought a new car from Nexa, my name was included in the contest. He said as part of their brand promotion, they are offering some voucher for free luxury stay and also free movie tickets in PVR. I would need to visit a hotel nearby along with my wife and physically collect the coupons.

First I called the RM from Nexa and he confirmed they are not part of any such schemes and the number could have leaked from the insurance company. Then I searched in Quora and reddit to find their modus operandi and also to check if I am falling into any trap by visiting them.

I then visit them along with wife. The person assigned to us starts asking questions about our holiday preference, frequencies etc. However I found his tone to be condescending as if he is doing us a huge favour by inviting us there. I asked him to cut to the chase and tell us about the membership cost. He seemed surprised and annoyed at the same time and said let him finish the presentation first and then tell the cost. I told him I know about the scheme and if he tells me the cost, I will think about it and confirm in a few days. He says that can’t be done and the payment must be done on the spot. I made him clear that I will not be paying anything and only came there to collect the free vouchers which he promised, so asked him to save us both the time and get done with it. Hesitatingly he then mails me the voucher. Don’t know about it’s authenticity though.

[chandrda]

My Father fell for similar scam in 2001 and paid an initial amount of Rs.50,000/- out of total package of Rs.125,000/-. A significant amount 2 decades back. Its was called Holiday Homes and Hotels Ltd I think.

The model was same, but in my father's case they targeted those who had taken VRS recently. I am not sure from where or how they got the contact details to connect. We had landline in those days and mobile has just started.

The rest of the scam was similar, come with spouse to a 5 star hotel, pressurized to buy a package etc..

Once we realized that this is a scam, we were able to get a refund of 25K through constant follow ups and persistent. The rest 25k was provided as voucher to stay in hotels and resort which never worked.

I thought this model is not existent now and cant believe its still happening. Hope you get your full refund.

Regards

[StarrySky]

Way back in 2003/4, I received a call that I had won a prize and needed to visit some hotel with family to collect it. If I remember correctly, it was one of those lucky dips at some store from where they got my info. I went with my wife. After reaching there, we found out that it was organized by Club Mahindra. We were naive and did not know anything about these holiday schemes. It was the first time we were hearing about them. We were very tempted to get one of the packages during the gathering itself, but thankfully my usual procrastination before spending large sums of money saved us I need to add that the Club Mahindra guys also did not push too much, and a couple of follow-up calls later, they also stopped calling. Perhaps the sales pressure on them was also far lesser in those days.

[aayusht]

Originally Posted by shyampsunder

When in doubt, always use a credit card to make the payment preferably through American Express.

When the company has explicitly agreed that there was some misrepresentation and promised a refund, a simple chargeback request will let you claim your money back. American Express chargeback process is the easiest but pretty much every bank will support you.

Most of these shady entities don't support payment via credit card for this reason.

This is generally a good suggestion - please do note, there is a time limit till when the chargeback will be supported, generally 90-120 days from the statement date.

[akhil_007]

Another piece of useful advice shared by my friends:

1. If the caller does not have any relation to your purchase(not a dealer, not a RTO, not insurance), outrightly DENY your car purchase.

2. Generally, they begin by congratulating you on your recent car purchase. Practice the art of deliberate ambiguity. Don't admit to having made a purchase unless you know them

3. Never ever visit their place. Ask them to share the presentation and if prodded, do it over video call.

This scam existed at least 20 years ago. My uncle went to their venue along with his wife fully decked up. They had them sit for three hours to listen to the sales pitch. Only water was offered. The so called "gift" was a glass bowl . This was the famous Country Club

There is also another scam running since few years. You get a call on your birthday wishing you "Happy Birthday". Once you acknowledge with a thanks, guilt tripping starts and they ask you to donate for an orphanage, child care, old age home etc

[Vikash Kumawat]

Thanks for sharing your experience, it will be helpful for others.
I used to got 2-3 calls from HDFC bank for the credit card offers, since I am against Credit Cards, I always denied them that I don’t need a Credit Card, but still they were spamming me, after that I bought a new sim and now giving my new numbers to the professional dealers, websites and everywhere and keeping my personal number for the family only, and I just stopped picking up the unknown calls.
Keep the spam protection on your phone, and whenever you get a call of such spams, just report and block them so next time you don't get the call from that number, and think twice before giving your phone number to anywhere, specially any websites and forms,
Its really sad to see people getting cheated, where we daily see people losing lakhs of rupees, be aware guys

[somersault]

I have a general rule in my life.

1. I am not so much "lucky" in my life that anyone offers me anything "free". So any offer with "free" word, I avoid. e.g. free or discounted offer like the one you mentioned.
2. In the same way, I have not done any bad thing in my life to face any unnecessary fear from anyone including authorities. So any message or phone call with perceived "threat", I simply discard or disconnect. e.g. Light bill scam or FedEx scam etc.

Of course, this is not applicable to any written registered mail communication. For rest, if you follow these 2 guidelines, you will be saved from cyber frauds or scams most of the time.

[manincar]

There is no such thing as free in the world. If some thing is free, then our data is the product.

Ignore the spam callers. Ignore the guys roaming around in mall handing out lucky draw tickets asking only name and number. Ignore the guys selling credit cards in shopping centre, airports etc. Ignore the 100s of insurance agents who magically get your phone number when insurance is about to expire. Ignore tire guys telling how cute or how smart our kids are only to entice us to enroll in courses. If something is too good to be true, it isn’t.

If you really want a product or service take the extra effort of doing a research (not just Google reviews) before proceeding. If you are too busy to do research, pay as you go. Ignore all these calls and try to book directly from the service provider rather than going through third parties offering discounts and schemes

[Prof87]

I too had received a similar call from some random club asking to attend some event in Electronic City. This was after I had purchased my Nexon in Feb 24. So, it seems like these organizers have tie up with almost all dealers. I was approached by a guy calling multiple times to attend the event wherein I was getting free tickets to some resort for 2 nights stay and then once I said will attend, he said his manager will call and give me further details. Once the call was disconnected, I blocked his number and subsequent calls from his manager were also blocked. They reached out to me by calling from different numbers for next 2 days and eventually gave up.

[autotranny]

This was a very common offer prevalent in the early 2010s - but not everything is bad about it, if you tread carefully, and so I wouldn't call it as scam.

The first time I heard about this 'concept' was from a colleague who had already enjoyed his free voucher for a stay at Gangtok (with Sterling Resorts). He'd got this voucher during a visit to City Centre Mall, in Salt Lake, Kolkata, followed by a session at their office but without any sort of payment. He mentioned that Club Mahindra was also offering similar plans.

Immediately a couple of us visited City Centre, walked back and forth enough times in front of both the kiosks to garner attention and get enrolled, but at the same time acting very nonchalant about it. Without any surprise, couple of days later, we were informed that we won the lucky dip and was advised to visit their respective offices. I chose Club Mahindra, since they had more resorts in the south. It was standard operating model thereafter - over the top claims, aggressive selling, multiple sellers, impressive PowerPoints. Me and my wife sat through the entire thing and calmly waited for the free vouchers. We were in our late twenties and the idea of free stay at a resort was very compelling. Also, the package at INR 3.3 Lacs or so was anyway not within our budget.

We chose a resort in Ooty. Mind you , the stay is not 'free' like they claim - they charge for utilities or some such thing and more importantly, its a very narrow window of dates that you can really use it for. Anyway, I was fully aware of this from my colleague and actually, it still worked out much cheaper than booking a hotel of similar stature.

Thereafter couple of years later, I also, attended a Country Club event in Hyderabad. Ended up with some memorabilia and free vouchers - unfortunately could never encash them, since my dates couldn't match.

I have never bought a package till now and nowadays, I will not make the effort to attend a session. However, I continue to get offers, but these days from Club Marriott, Hyatt etc. They promise you 75% off on premium apartments in Phuket, Krabi etc. If you check on Agoda, that's more like a par price for those properties.

By the way, my colleague who introduced me to this, went onto enjoy 3 such free holidays and eventually ended up buying a timeshare with Sterling.

[RM Motorsports]

Originally Posted by Asish_VK

Yes, plenty of them

While I was at Goa early this month, I was approached by some sales executives of "Karma Group" o the street and handed over some scratch cards as part of their anniversary event.

This scam dates back many many years. I was made a member of Karma Group in 2018. I didn't happen to pay anything as such.

It happened at a petrol pump in Goa. I was filling up gas when a guy appears and asks to fill up a form claiming "lucky draw" and I could win a free international holiday. Though I knew it was just "trick" to get phone / email data, I just filled up email column. A few days later I received a welcome email, with my membership number. But after that not a single email or promotional offers from them.

[khanmaj]

I wish the OP get his refund soon. I believe that dealers are sharing customer data, and it has nothing to do with the OEM.

I had a similar experience when I bought a Tiago back in 2019. Shortly after, I received multiple calls from a five-star resort claiming that Tata had nominated me for a complimentary dinner with my family. I couldn’t help but wonder that I had to work hard to get some freebies from Tata on that purchase and now I was offered such a lavish gift. I knew there was some catch so I politely declined.

Fast forward to this July when I purchased a Nexon, the calls started again pretending from another Five start hotel. They were offering a free dinner and a scratch voucher that could potentially win me a free vacation. I knew it was scam and no five-star property would reach out like that without prior interest initiated from our end.


I remind myself every day that nothing is truly free in this world. One must stay vigilant when it comes to so-called complimentary offers.

[100Kmphormore]

Fortunately, have not received spam like this after test driving cars from the regular dealerships I go to - the first thing I tell them is, if they leak data and any spam call linked to this, they will get a callback to their RM. but their executives are a pain in the ass. Inspite of being told explicitly that they need not call, a barrage of calls from entirely different showrooms! Only after a raised voice discussion and a threat to make it public did they stop.
As for these companies, the executives are not courteous by any chance. They know what sort of scam they are running and the responses they will get on the call and are prepared. Being an iPhone user, very rarely it shows on the screen whether it’s spam or not. Had an experience where it turned into a heated argument ending with - “go to hell”? I had not used foul language until then - immediately cursed at him in Haryanvi before he could hang up.
As others have suggested, use credit cards - most of them won’t accept anything other than UPI