Safe Account Transfer Fraud Alert Scam over the phone

How it looks over the phone, the red flags and what to do.

On a call the pressure is live: no time to read, no time to check, and a rule that you must not tell anyone. Safe Account Transfer Fraud Alert Scam is one of the ways this shows up: A caller says your account is under attack and asks you to move your savings to a 'safe account' immediately. The account belongs to the scammer.

What safe account transfer fraud alert scam looks like over the phone

• Instructions to install a screen-sharing app or to press keys on 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.

The scammer begins by reading out a few details about you, such as your name, a bank name or the last digits of a card, to prove they know you. Then they describe a fake attack: a login from another country, a loan being applied for, or a large transfer in progress. They sound hurried and a little frightened, so that you feel you are in a race against the hackers.

Red flags to check on the phone call

• You are told to move money to a safe or temporary account.
• The caller says not to use the bank app or tell anyone.
• You must not hang up because hackers are listening.
• A loan or FD break is suggested to move more money.
• 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. Hang up. A bank will never ask you to move your money to another account.
2. Call your bank on the number printed on your card or passbook.
3. Check the account in the official app yourself.
4. Hang up. A real bank or office will not mind that you call them back.
5. Call the bank or office on the number printed on your card, bill or official app, not on a number the caller gave.
6. Never share an OTP or PIN. No genuine staff member needs it.

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 immediately and give the receiver account details and amount.
2. Call your bank on the number on your card and ask them to flag the transfer.
3. Report at https://cybercrime.gov.in with the call log and transaction proof.
4. Do not take more loans or send more money to 'recover' the first amount.

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

Safeavio's Money Shield gives you a 'verify before you pay' checklist, trusted contacts and a family code word, so you can stop and ask someone before moving money on a caller's instructions. The scam check can review chat messages you paste. It does not block calls by itself, so hang up and call your bank on the number on your card.

Full guide: Safe Account Transfer Fraud Alert Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: WhatsApp, SMS.

Questions