Center issued warning against dialing *401*, said- be alert if call comes from unknown number

People who use mobile phones have been alerted by the Central Government to the possibility of receiving fraudulent calls. The Department of Telecommunications reports that *401* should not be dialled by mobile users. If you receive a call from an unknown cellphone number, you should be cautious while dialling this number.

According to the Telecom Ministry, a call from an unknown number can be made with the intention of cheating and people may be asked to dial *401*, but people need to be cautious about this. The Department of Telecommunications on Thursday said that if a mobile user dials *401* after receiving a call from an unknown number, the call forwarding service will be activated. According to the Department of Telecommunications, by dialling *401* followed by an unknown number, calls coming to the mobile will be forwarded unconditionally to the unknown mobile number. Sensitive information can be stolen from this.

People are cautioned by the Department of Telecommunications to steer clear of calls purporting to be from bogus sources. Any unknown number should be avoided, especially if it asks you to dial *401*. According to the Department of Telecommunications, people trying to commit phone fraud are trying to activate unconditional call forwarding on mobile. This will make it easier for people involved in a fraud conspiracy to receive all incoming calls and obtain sensitive information like OTP.

Major fraud can be committed with *401*. The DoT stated that a fraudster would call a consumer as part of their scheme. Individuals engaged in fraud will pose as the telecom company's technical support staff and customer care agents. The customer will be informed that there is a problem with their SIM card or that there is a network or service quality issue in an attempt to confuse them. The customer will be prompted to dial a special code - *401* to address the issue.

According to the government, telecom service providers never ask their customers to dial *401*. To avoid fraud, citizens have been advised to check the settings of their mobile phones related to call forwarding. If call forwarding has been activated by mistake by dialling *401**, deactivate it immediately.