Pension Life Certificate 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. 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 by SMS

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

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 text message

• 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 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. 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. Open the official app or type the official website yourself to see if there is any real notice.
5. Paste the text into a scam checker (Safeavio Sentinel can check it) before you do anything else.
6. Report the sender on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility) and block the number.

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. 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, WhatsApp, fake app.

Questions