Call forwarding feature has helped people for years but scammers are now using it to access your number and use it for wrong activities.
The Indian government is ready to tackle the issue of call forwarding scams and it has decided to suspend the feature temporarily for millions of phone users in the country. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued a circular in March which warrants telcos to stop supporting the USSD-based forward service that has become the prime target for these scammers.
The telecom body has realised that allowing the feature to work has become a huge issue as scammers have misused the tech to commit frauds and steal money from people’s bank accounts. Call forwarding is mostly a useful feature that allows people to forward their calls to another number if their primary number is busy, not reachable or offers no answer. But the same feature has become a bane, that has clearly made it necessary for some regulatory action.
USSD-BASED CALL FORWARDING SERVICE TO BE STOPPED: WHAT IS IT AND HOW IT WORKS
The DoT circular mentions the service will be discontinued from April 15, 2024 in the country, and people using the feature for their phone number will have to use other methods to forward their calls as the USSD-centric feature will not work.
As you might know, USSD codes are made of alpha-numeric as well as special characters like hash (#) and star (*) that are used on phones (both feature and smart) to access telco-related details and even let you make UPI payments in some cases.
The scam basically starts when the fraudster gives you a call disguised as your internet provider or telecom operator (which could be Airtel, Jio or Vi). They will say that your mobile account has been hacked or there is some problem with your SIM card. These issues can understandably get anyone to panic and the scamsters use this scare to make them share confidential information.
The attackers will then ask you to dial the USSD number *401# code to activate call forward for your number which allows the scamster to access your phone calls, SMSs which contain personal details like OTPs for bank account or UPI transactions.
If they are able to use these details to access your bank account, they can get it verified and withdraw money. Because they have access to your number through the right channel, you will not get an alert about suspicious activity in your account.
Having said that, you can use the USSD code *#21# which helps you know whether your call or even the phone number has been forwarded to any other number. Knowing this is essential to avoid call-forward scams that are rampant lately. The best way to avoid falling for these scams is never answer to calls claiming to be from your telcos customer service, asking for details they will never need.