Courier and ATM Franchise Agency Scam over the phone

How it looks over the phone, the red flags and what to do.

Callers pretend to be bank staff, police, a courier, a telecom officer or a relative, and they try to keep you on the line while you act. Courier and ATM Franchise Agency Scam is one of the ways this shows up: An offer to open an ATM, courier or delivery franchise with guaranteed monthly income takes registration and security fees, then goes silent. See how.

What courier and atm franchise agency scam looks like over the phone

• An unknown or international number, or a number that looks like a real office.
• A calm, official voice that already knows your name or the last digits of your card.
• Being told to stay on the line and not to tell your family.

The scammer copies the logo and the language of a well-known company and sends an email that appears to come from its franchise department. A website with a form and a list of 'approved partners' backs it up. The offer is hard to resist: a small deposit, a share of every transaction or parcel, and a promise that the business runs by itself.

Red flags to check on the phone call

• A franchise that promises a fixed monthly income with no work.
• Fees for registration, clearance or inspection paid to a personal or unrelated account.
• An email from a free address or a website address that differs from the real company's.
• Only a few locations left, with a payment deadline.
• The caller asks for an OTP, UPI PIN, card PIN or CVV.
• You are told that a case, arrest, block or penalty is coming within minutes.

What to do

1. Contact the real company using the contact on its official website typed by hand.
2. Ask whether it has franchise offers and whether the person who contacted you works there.
3. Never pay fees to a personal account or before you see a registered agreement.
4. If you already installed an app on the call, uninstall it and switch on airplane mode, then call your bank at once.
5. Tell a family member and report the number on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility).
6. Hang up. A real bank or office will not mind that you call them back.

Report the number on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility). If money moved, call 1930 immediately.

If money or a code is already gone

1. Call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in with each payment and the website address.
2. Tell your bank on the number printed on your card and ask about holding transfers.
3. Inform the real company so that it can warn the public.
4. File a written complaint at the police station with all emails and receipts.

National Cyber Crime Helpline: 1930; report at cybercrime.gov.in.

Safeavio's link check can look at the franchise website or form link you paste and warn about lookalike domains, and the scam check marks the guaranteed income and the stage-by-stage fees in an email you paste. It cannot judge whether a business plan is sound or the company is registered, so verify with the real company yourself. Treat any fee as a stop sign.

Full guide: Courier and ATM Franchise Agency Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: email, WhatsApp, social media.

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