Credit Limit Increase Call Scam by SMS

How it looks by SMS, the red flags and what to do.

A text message is the cheapest way for a scammer to reach thousands of phones at once, and the sender name can look like a bank, a courier or a government office. Credit Limit Increase Call Scam is one of the ways this shows up: A caller offers to raise your credit card limit and asks for an OTP or card details. The OTP approves a payment from your card instead.

What credit limit increase call scam looks like by SMS

• A request to call a number, install an app or share an OTP.
• Several near-identical messages arriving together from different senders.
• A sender name that resembles a bank, courier, tax or utility, or an ordinary mobile number.

The scammer buys or finds lists of card holders and calls with polite scripts. They may know the name of your bank and the last four digits of the card, which they use to sound genuine. They explain that the offer is only for selected customers, which flatters you, and that it will expire at the end of the day.

Red flags to check on the text message

• An unrequested call offers a free limit increase.
• You are asked for card number, expiry and CVV on the phone.
• An OTP is requested to activate the offer.
• The offer expires today.
• The link domain is not the one you type yourself for that organisation.
• The message asks for an OTP, PIN, card number or password.

What to do

1. End the call and do not share card details or any OTP.
2. Call your bank on the number printed on the back of your card.
3. Check your bank's official app for any offers on your card.
4. Delete the message and tell family members who may get the same text.
5. Do not reply, do not tap the link and do not call the number in the message.
6. Open the official app or type the official website yourself to see if there is any real notice.

You can report suspicious SMS and calls on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility) of the Department of Telecommunications.

If money or a code is already gone

1. Call your bank on the number on your card and block the card at once.
2. Call 1930 and give the transaction details and time.
3. Report at https://cybercrime.gov.in with the call log and statements.
4. Ask the bank about a dispute for transactions you did not authorise.

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

Safeavio's Money Shield gives you a 'verify before you pay' checklist, and one of its rules is never to give an OTP to a caller. You can paste a follow-up SMS into the scam check to see the reasons it looks risky. Safeavio does not block calls by itself, so end the call and use the number on your card.

Full guide: Credit Limit Increase Call Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: phone call, WhatsApp, fake app.

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