In a bid to curb cybercrimes and protect telecom users from fraudulent activities, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has released an advisory cautioning citizens against dialling ‘*401#’ followed by an unknown mobile number. The advisory underscores the risk of activating unconditional call forwarding, enabling fraudsters to reroute incoming calls to an unfamiliar number.
The scam involves criminals posing as customer service representatives or technical support staff from major telecom operators such as Airtel, Jio, Vodafone-Idea, and BSNL. Victims are deceived into dialling ‘*401#’ followed by an unknown number, activating call forwarding and providing an opportunity for cybercriminals to exploit incoming calls for illicit purposes.
The resurgence of the ‘*401#’ call forwarding scam in October prompted the DoT to issue this advisory, cautioning users about the modus operandi of fraudsters who impersonate delivery agents, bank representatives, or service providers. The advisory emphasizes the severity of the scam and urges mobile users to exercise caution and refrain from responding to such deceptive calls.
To prevent falling victim to call forwarding scams, the advisory suggests users avoid using the provided numbers for call forwarding and take prompt action if they unknowingly activate call forwarding. Users are encouraged to navigate to their phone settings, access call settings, and disable the call forwarding option or restore default settings.
The DoT’s advisory serves as a crucial reminder for mobile users to stay vigilant, exercise caution, and adopt preventive measures to protect against evolving cyber threats. As cybercriminals continuously innovate their tactics, user awareness and prompt responses become imperative in maintaining digital security.
