Fake Call to extract Card information
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Putting this out there, so people with similar experiences can know - and people who haven't had this experience can be prepared for this - if and when it happens.
My basic advice for such prank calling:
- Keep them online as much as possible
- Do not divulge any personal / identifiable details
- Lodge a complaint with the police immediately after hanging up on the call (TN police website has an eazy-peazy complaint registration system)
So, this is the first time I've received a hoax call. Here's how it went:
8409181059: "Hello, calling from State Bank; your card is no longer functional"
Me (who doesn't have a State Bank account): "Oh, you're calling from State bank?"
8409181059: "Yes, I'm the branch manager.... Your card isn't functional, and we need to re-activate it"
Me (who has already realised what's going on, and is going to try and keep him on-call for as long as possible so that he doesn't scam others in that time): "Oh, which branch?"
8409181059: "State bank...."
Me: "Yes, which branch?"
8409181059: "T Nagar"
Me (Mentally making a note that some shop / purchase I've made in this area has led to this!): "Oh okay. What do you want?"
8409181059: "Your card number...."
Me: "Okay, hang on... let me pull it up"
8409181059: "Yes, yes, your card number...."
Me: "Sure, let me pull it up"
8409181059: "It will be on the front of the card, sir"
Me: "Since this isn't my primary account, I'm not having it with me at the moment. Gimme few minutes. Let me pull up my card details"
8409181059: "Okay, okay... 16 digit number ... front of the card...."
Me (pulling up my actual debit card details, to provide a falsified number): "Okay, I have it"
8409181059: "Yes, tell me...."
Me: 7 - 7 - 1 - 4 ...
8409181059 (confused): "Seven?!!?"
Me: "Yes"
8409181059: "No sir ..... (comments away from phone about me being dumb!) ... it is a 16-digit number on front of card"
Me: "Yes"
8409181059: "It should start with 4 or 5 or 6"
Me (Having not known this all my life!): "Oh, is it?
8409181059: "Yes, sir. Front of card. 16-digit number"
Me (thinking of another fake number): " 5 - 2 - 9 - 2 ..."
8409181059: (excitedly) "Yes, yes... this is it... Tell me"
Me: Completes giving out a fully fake number
8409181059: "Wait sir, let me check it"
Me: "Sure"
(Can hear him typing away at a keyboard)
8409181059: (dejected) "Sir.... This is incorrect. Wrong card number"
Me: "Oh? Is it wrong? How?"
8409181059: (mutters) "Idiot..." and hangs up call.
I called him back.
8409181059: "Sir, card number is incorrect, sir"
Me: "YOU ARE TRYING TO FOOL PEOPLE AND STEAL THEIR MONEY AND I'M THE IDIOT???? IDIOTS"
He cuts the call again.
(My subsequent call to the Cybercrime police department was interesting as well. Will post about it shortly)
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