[GTsunny]

Got this sms short while ago from a mobile phone number.
..

Dear customer your Vodafone number has been blocked please contact customer care 8895316523 and verify your documents immediately thank you Vodafone team
..

Reported both cell numbers on TRAI app and TrueCaller, comes up as fraud on TrueCaller.

I’ve blocked both the numbers.

[AZT]

Originally Posted by GTsunny

Got this sms short while ago from a mobile phone number.
..

Dear customer your Vodafone number has been blocked please contact customer care 8895316523 and verify your documents immediately thank you Vodafone team

Exact same message received on both mine and moms number. Scammers having a Happy New Year looks like.

[vaasu]

I have started seeing scammers impersonating as buyers on Olx.
I had put my old LCD monitor on sale on Olx. Received a call from a buyer, who is supposed to be All India buyer of used computer accessories.

All was normal till he mentioned that he wanted to pay me upfront! This was the first red herring. Never seen a buyer too eager to pay upfront before collecting the item. He shared a QR code, which I was supposed to scan for collecting money. However, when I scanned it, it showed that instead I was going to pay him the money from "my account"! He tried convincing me that this is normal and it is how it works.

However, I declined and said I would take the money when he comes to collect the item. No calls post that.
I have tagged him as suspicious both on Olx and truecaller.

[logicalidiot]

Received this message on my phone yesterday. I own a Amazon ICICI credit card where the reward points are given in the form of Amazon Pay cashback. This was one give away of this being a scam. But at the same time, I was also hoping for it to be some sort of glitch from ICICIs end where they perhaps were calculating separate regular reward points as well?



As it was not a regular phone number, I decided to click on the link and open it. And then the moment I clicked it, I realised this is a scam due to below reasons.

1. The link is invalid or doesn't seem like the original website link
2. They're asking for the credit card details including PIN
3. Common sense on why you shouldn't be getting regular reward points on your ICICI card. Too good to be true!

I'm afraid regular ICICI credit card users could easily fall into the scam if not for the website link. In many cases, MPIN is used by the banks themselves to redeem points or to verify the card. Posted here if it could help anyone from falling into the trap!

[jkrishnakj]

Here’s one I got for my SBi card. Clearly, the number was a diff one. Truecaller rightly said ‘Bank fraud scam’. I promptly sent this to the SBI Helpdesk for further action.

[adisan]

This happened a few years back. One day I received a call, and the caller identified as being from the Credit Card dispatch section of a bank where I used to have a home loan account.

Caller: "Your credit card is ready for dispatch, please confirm your mailing address".
Me: "I never applied for a credit card with your bank".

After a few attempts to convince me to take the credit card, the caller seemed to relent.

Caller: "You will receive an OTP on your mobile. Please share it and I shall cancel your application".

The OTP message did not mention that it was to be used for cancelling the application, moreover it advised to ignore if I had not applied for credit card. I declined to share the OTP despite the caller trying to convince me a few times.

Two observations:
1. They have possibly used my profile details from the old home loan account to themselves create a credit card application in my name.
2. They made many attempts to make me share the OTP. If I had shared, then in all probability, they would have approved the credit card in my name and dispatched it.

[NPV]

Got this message recently, supposedly from "Airtel"!

[ninjatalli]

^^
I keep getting "your number is going to be discontinued today/tomorrow. Please reach out to this number immediately" messages, supposedly from Airtel, on a frequent basis.

[Amrik Singh]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Here’s one I got for my SBi card. Clearly, the number was a diff one. Truecaller rightly said ‘Bank fraud scam’. I promptly sent this to the SBI Helpdesk for further action.

I keep getting this type of messaes and Call from scamsters claiming to be calling from SBI. Incidentally my Branch has all Female Staff. He has never got anything worth value from me, except the best of Punjabi Cuss Words.

[adisan]

Beware the IT refunds call, Bengaluru woman falls prey to phishing (From The New Indian Express)

Cyber scamsters have a brand new scheme with which to trick gullible netizens: callers offer to help with the deposit of income tax refund into taxpayers’ accounts.

[meerkat]

Hello friends,

Yesterday (15-02-2022), between 12:38 pm and 02:29 pm I was bombarded with atleast 15 calls from strange numbers (seemingly from all over the world)! These happened in bunches in several spells (see screenshots of the call log).

Suspicious, I declined all of them. But I am wondering, what kind of scam was being attempted on me? Anyone else has experienced (or heard of) anything similar? Should I worry? Should I report this to some authority? Who? Thanks.
.

[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by meerkat

Hello friends,

Yesterday (15-02-2022), between 12:38 pm and 02:29 pm I was bombarded with atleast 15 calls from strange numbers (seemingly from all over the world)! ... But I am wondering, what kind of scam was being attempted on me? ...

Are you presently in Europe? This is one of the common scams where they block your number and call your spouse/ parents/ etc. stating that there is an issue in the passport/ visa and unless a specific amount is paid urgently, right now, immigration police is going to turn up.

A friend's wife was scammed out of ~$4000 using this technique.

[meerkat]

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

Are you presently in Europe? This is one of the common scams where they block your number and call your spouse/ parents/ etc. stating that there is an issue in the passport/ visa and unless a specific amount is paid urgently, right now, immigration police is going to turn up.

Thanks. No, I'm currently in India. I suspect those scammers knew about it too. So their modus operandi would be something different that I can't even guess. If this is something new for India, I expect to hear of more such instances in future. I just am not sure how to keep myself and people around me 100% protected against it without being better informed about it.
.

[Sran]

I am getting calls fortnightly for free holidays for 4 family members in Shimla, Manali or Goa for 3 nights.

Every call I get is from different company but when they call they introduce themselves as xyz(always a female) calling from some reputed hotel. Then they offer free couple lunch or dinner at that hotel with some complimentary gift. They ask for an hour of my time and say they will need us to sign papers to accept the said free offer and gift.

I smell something fishy and some ongoing scam. I have always refused going to free luncheon as in my mind there is nothing called free. What is the catch here? Are they signing people for holiday plans and then forcing people to pay up because they signed some papers while being kept in dark?

[Raghunath Singh]

Originally Posted by Sran

I am getting calls fortnightly for free holidays for 4 family members in Shimla, Manali or Goa for 3 nights.

Every call I get is from different company but when they call they introduce themselves as xyz(always a female) calling from some reputed hotel. Then they offer free couple lunch or dinner at that hotel with some complimentary gift. They ask for an hour of my time and say they will need us to sign papers to accept the said free offer and gift.

I smell something fishy and some ongoing scam. I have always refused going to free luncheon as in my mind there is nothing called free. What is the catch here? Are they signing people for holiday plans and then forcing people to pay up because they signed some papers while being kept in dark?

This is definitely part of the holiday timeshare sales. They insist on you coming there as a couple (husband and wife must, not kids). They give you a pitch for 2-3 hours, you can buy the holiday timeshare and utilise accommodation/facilities for one week next 35 years. If you can't pay the entire amount one shot, you can pay in EMI. These are mostly fly by night operators. Club Mahindra had a similar scheme I suppose, not sure if they continue to still market it. They are definitely reputed. Usually the bait is lunch/dinner/holiday etc. Once you arrive at the venue, they will not let you go easily.

How do I know this? Well, I worked for a Timeshare company for quick buck while in college....spent 1 month during college vacation and bid adieu to this shady work. It was disheartening to see customers who sign up in the jist of excitement only to return next day for refund....which is usually very hard to get.

Nothing comes free in this world