Pension Life Certificate Call Scam through an app

How it looks through an app, the red flags and what to do.

A fake app can be installed from a link, from a file sent on chat or even from a lookalike listing. Once on your phone it can ask for powerful permissions. Pension Life Certificate Call Scam is one of the ways this shows up: A caller says your pension will stop unless you submit a life certificate now and asks for an OTP. See how seniors are targeted and how to stay safe.

What pension life certificate call scam looks like through an app

• A "KYC", "challan" or "bank rewards" app from a link.
• An .apk file sent on WhatsApp or by SMS.
• An app outside the official store that asks for many permissions.

The scammer often knows the person is a pensioner from leaked lists, a bank branch visit or a neighbour. The call sounds calm and official, naming the pension office or the bank, and quotes the correct month when certificates are normally due. This detail makes it believable to someone who has submitted the paper before.

Red flags to check on the app

• The caller asks for an OTP to submit a certificate.
• A helper app or screen-sharing tool is needed for the 'update'.
• You are told the pension stops this month, with no written notice.
• He asks you to stay on the line and not tell family.
• The app does not come from the official store listing of the company.
• It asks for accessibility, screen overlay, SMS or contacts without a clear reason.

What to do

1. Hang up and do not read out any OTP or code.
2. Tell a family member before doing anything else.
3. Visit your bank branch or the pension office, or use the official channel you used last year.
4. Call your bank, and call 1930 if money moved.
5. Do not install it. If it is installed, uninstall it now (Settings, Apps).
6. Open Settings and check Accessibility, Device admin apps and Install unknown apps for anything you do not recognise.

Report the fake app to the store it came from and, if money moved, call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in.

If money or a code is already gone

1. If you shared an OTP or installed an app, call 1930 immediately and report at cybercrime.gov.in.
2. Ask your bank, on the number printed on your passbook, to block net banking and UPI.
3. Uninstall the app, or ask a family member to help reset the phone.
4. Visit the branch in person to confirm pension credit and ask for a statement.

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

Family features can help here: a child or relative can use the family alerts and the code word idea from Money Shield so that any request about money is checked at home first. Safeavio can also review a message or link you paste and warns about urgency and OTP asks. It cannot hear a phone call, so the habit of hanging up and calling the branch yourself matters most.

Full guide: Pension Life Certificate Call Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: phone call, SMS, WhatsApp.

Questions