Spam call

Spam call is an unwanted call about loans, offers or fake services. Some are only marketing, but many try to steal money or data.

Spam call: A spam call is an unwanted, usually bulk call, such as a sales pitch for a loan, card upgrade or investment. Some come from legitimate telemarketers. Others are fraud attempts that use the call to get your OTP, card details or a payment.

Typical Indian spam calls offer loans, credit cards, insurance, job offers, lottery prizes or tell you that a KYC update is pending. Some begin with a recorded voice. The caller is trained to sound helpful, and the script moves fast: confirm your name, tell me the code you just received, install this app. The speed is deliberate. Remember that a friendly, patient voice is part of the technique.

The safest response is to say nothing and hang up, then block the number. Do not press keys. Do not confirm your name, date of birth or bank. If you were curious and stayed on the call, check your SMS and apps for anything unexpected. You can report the number to your operator or on Sanchar Saathi, which helps others.

Tips

• Hang up without giving any detail, then block and report the number.
• Never read out an OTP that arrives during a call.
• Let unknown numbers go to voicemail if you are not expecting any call.

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