The DoT has urged millions of Indian mobile phone customers to be aware of calls to dial ‘*401#’ followed by an unknown number. This scam lets crooks reroute all incoming calls to the user’s phone for fraud.
Millions of Indian mobile phone subscribers have been warned by the DoT. Users should avoid calls to dial ‘*401#’ followed by an unknown number. Falling for this scam lets crooks divert all incoming calls to the user’s number, facilitating fraud.
Warning for Telecom Users
Airtel, Jio, Vodafone-Idea, and BSNL subscribers are warned by the Department of Telecommunications to beware of such calls. After October’s ‘*401#’ call forwarding scam, this alert is issued. This scam involves cybercriminals impersonating as delivery people, bank representatives, or service providers to deceive victims into phoning the stated number, redirecting calls to unknown numbers.
Methods of Cybercriminals
Cybercriminals mimic bank agents or telecom support experts to report network issues. Users are instructed to dial ‘*401#’ to fix the problem.
This forwards citizen mobile calls to unknown numbers unconditionally. DoT stated that this allows fraudsters to receive all incoming calls and commit fraud.
Department of Telecommunications advises rejecting such service calls and not forwarding calls using the supplied numbers.
Stopping Call Forwarding?
Such frauds can accidentally activate call forwarding, which must be disabled immediately. Users can do this:
Go to phone settings.
Go to call settings.
Restore defaults or disable call forwarding.Conclusion
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has urged millions of Indian mobile phone customers to be wary of calls to dial ‘401#‘ followed by an unknown number. By falling for this scam, crooks can divert all incoming calls to the user’s phone for fraud. The DoT has warned Airtel, Jio, Vodafone-Idea, and BSNL consumers to avoid such calls. Cybercriminals imitate bank or telecom help agents to allege network faults. Users are instructed to dial ‘401#’ to fix the problem. DoT advises ignoring service calls and not forwarding calls to specified numbers.
