The government has issued a cautionary advisory to the public regarding fraudulent calls purportedly from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), where callers threaten to disconnect mobile numbers or claim their numbers are involved in illegal activities.

The DoT also alerted citizens about WhatsApp calls originating from foreign mobile numbers, particularly those with country code +92, wherein individuals impersonate government officials to deceive people.

“Cyber criminals through such calls try to threaten/steal personal information to carry out cyber-crime/financial frauds. The DoT does not authorise anyone to make such calls on its behalf and has advised people to stay vigilant and not share any information on receiving such calls,” stated an official press note on Friday.

The DoT urged citizens to report such fraudulent communications through the ‘Chakshu-Report Suspected Fraud Communications’ feature on the Sanchar Saathi portal (www.sancharsaathi.gov.in). Proactive reporting assists the DoT in preventing the misuse of telecom resources for cyber-crime and financial fraud.

Additionally, citizens are encouraged to verify mobile connections registered in their name through the ‘Know Your Mobile Connections’ feature on the Sanchar Saathi portal (www.sancharsaathi.gov.in) and report any unauthorized or unnecessary connections.

Furthermore, the DoT advised individuals to report incidents of cyber-crime or financial fraud to the cyber-crime helpline number 1930 or through the website www.cybercrime.gov.in if they become victims.

This advisory aims to raise awareness and empower citizens to safeguard themselves against fraudulent activities targeting their mobile connections and personal information.