PAN Card Blocked SMS Scam by SMS

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

On SMS the scammer has only a few lines to work with, so they use a deadline, a threat or a prize and a link that must be tapped "now". PAN Card Blocked SMS Scam is one of the ways this shows up: A text claims your PAN will be blocked unless you update it now. The link is a fake form that takes bank login details and OTPs.

What pan card blocked sms scam looks like by SMS

• 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.
• A very short message with a deadline such as "today" or "within 24 hours".

The scammer picks PAN because almost every adult has one and knows it is tied to tax, banking and investing. The message mixes official words such as verification, linkage and compliance. It may say the PAN will become inoperative, which sounds plausible to anyone who has heard about deadlines. The sender is a mobile number or a lookalike header, and the link is shortened.

Red flags to check on the text message

• It says your PAN is blocked or will be blocked.
• It uses a shortened link instead of a clear official address.
• It asks for net banking login details to update a PAN.
• The message has a 24 hour or same-day deadline.
• 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. Do not open the link or call back any number in the message.
2. Check your PAN status only on the official income tax e-filing website typed by hand.
3. Tell your bank through its official app if you think the message mentioned your account.
4. Paste the text into a scam checker (Safeavio Sentinel can check it) before you do anything else.
5. Report the sender on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility) and block the number.
6. Delete the message and tell family members who may get the same text.

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 and give the transaction details.
2. Call the number printed on your card or passbook to block net banking and cards.
3. Report at cybercrime.gov.in and note the acknowledgement number.
4. Change passwords on any account that shared the same login, starting with email.

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

With Safeavio Sentinel you can paste or share the message into the scam check and get a verdict with reasons such as fake authority, a threat and a request for login details. Pasting the link into the link check helps you spot shortened or lookalike addresses. The password exposure check can show whether a password has appeared in known leaks. It cannot confirm your real PAN status. That has to be checked on the official site.

Full guide: PAN Card Blocked SMS Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: email, WhatsApp.

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