Fake Order Confirmation and Cancel Request Call 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. Fake Order Confirmation and Cancel Request Call is one of the ways this shows up: An SMS or call says an expensive order was placed in your name and offers a cancel link. The cancel page is built to steal your card or UPI PIN.

What fake order confirmation and cancel request call looks like over the phone

• A second "senior officer" who takes over the call.
• 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.

The scammer sends a bulk message with an invented order amount, product name and order number. He does not need to know what you bought, because the shock of a large unknown purchase is enough to make you act. The sender name or email sign-off copies a popular shopping brand, and the layout copies a real receipt with a tidy table of items and a delivery date.

Red flags to check on the phone call

• A high-value order appears that you did not place.
• The cancel option is a link or a phone number inside the same message.
• The caller wants an OTP, a PIN or an app installed in order to cancel.
• A short deadline is given before the item is 'dispatched'.
• The caller wants you to install an app to "fix" something.
• The caller asks for an OTP, UPI PIN, card PIN or CVV.

What to do

1. Open the shopping app yourself and check your order history for the item.
2. Do not tap the link or call the number in the message.
3. If there is no such order, ignore the message and report the number via Sanchar Saathi.
4. Never share an OTP or PIN. No genuine staff member needs it.
5. If you already installed an app on the call, uninstall it and switch on airplane mode, then call your bank at once.
6. Tell a family member and report the number on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility).

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 straight away with the SMS and the payment reference.
2. Call your bank on the number on your card and ask to block the card and any pending transaction.
3. Remove any app the caller made you install and change your passwords from a different device.
4. Check the shopping account and email for logins you did not make.

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

Paste the order message into Scam check in Safeavio Sentinel, or share it from your messages app, and it shows the reasons it looks risky, such as pressure and a request for a code. Link check tests the cancel link before you open it. If you installed an app on a caller's request, Phone scan can show newly installed apps and risky permissions. Safeavio cannot confirm whether an order exists in your account, so check the shopping app itself.

Full guide: Fake Order Confirmation and Cancel Request Call: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: SMS, WhatsApp, email.

Questions