Mobile Number Deactivation KYC Text 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. Mobile Number Deactivation KYC Text Scam is one of the ways this shows up: A text says your SIM will be deactivated unless you update KYC today and asks you to call a number or install an app that hands over your phone.

What mobile number deactivation kyc text scam looks like by SMS

• A shortened or oddly spelled link that does not match the real website.
• A request to call a number, install an app or share an OTP.
• Several near-identical messages arriving together from different senders.

The scammer sends texts from numbers that look like ordinary mobiles or from lookalike headers. The words are crisp and official sounding: expiry, verification, last notice. Because most people use only one number for banking and everything else, the thought of losing it makes the message very scary, and many recipients call at once without checking anything.

Red flags to check on the text message

• A text says your number will be deactivated within hours.
• It asks you to call a personal mobile number.
• The caller wants you to install a support or screen sharing app.
• You are asked to read out a code from your screen.
• It threatens blocking, arrest, disconnection or a fine unless you act at once.
• It promises a refund, prize or cashback you never asked for.

What to do

1. Do not call the number or tap the link.
2. Check your KYC status in your operator's official app or at its store.
3. Remove any support app you installed and turn off screen sharing.
4. Report the sender on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility) and block the number.
5. Delete the message and tell family members who may get the same text.
6. Do not reply, do not tap the link and do not call the number in the message.

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 1930 immediately if money has moved.
2. Ask your bank through the number on your card to block UPI and cards.
3. Uninstall the support app, restart the phone and change banking passwords from a clean device.
4. File a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in with the screenshot of the text.

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

Safeavio Sentinel's scam check explains why a deactivation text looks risky, pointing to urgency, a personal number and an app request. Its phone scan reviews installed apps and permissions, including apps from outside a store and risky settings, so a remote-support app can be spotted. It cannot confirm your KYC status with the operator and cannot undo what a caller did on your phone, so check with the operator directly.

Full guide: Mobile Number Deactivation KYC Text Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: phone call, fake app.

Questions