Citizens advised not to dial *401# followed by unknown mobile number on receiving malicious calls

New Delhi [India], January 11 : The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has advised citizens to beware of receiving malicious incoming calls who ask them to dial *401# followed by some unknown mobile number.
This is part of the department's proactive drive to prevent malicious incoming calls and safeguard cyber crimes and fraud.
Falling into the trap of cyber frauds may activate unconditional call forwarding received on mobile of the citizen to an unknown mobile number. This allows fraudsters to receive all incoming calls and can be used for fraud.
The department explained how the scamsters operate and what is their modus operandi: The fraudster typically calls the telecom subscriber and pretends to be a customer service representative or technical support staff from their telecom service provider.
The fraudster then states that either there is a problem with their SIM card or there is some issue related to network or service quality and they need to dial a specific code to fix the problem. This code usually starts with *401# followed by a mobile number.
After doing so unconditional call forwarding is activated on their mobile number and all incoming calls are forwarded to the fraudster's mobile number.
The fraudster then receives all incoming calls and can be used for fraud.
Against such potential threats, the department advised mobile phone users to check phone settings for call forwarding and disable it immediately in case it is enabled. It suggested users use the facility only when it is required.