Delhi Police calling you up for Aadhaar and bank details? Hang up, follow these tips to avoid being scammed

Now we all know that cyber fraud cases have been that femme fatale element of Indian daily that has never really rubbed clean. What has that taught us? The pattern of each and every case which usually goes like: 

• call or text or a WhatsApp message from an unknown number; or Instagram DM or a Facebook message
• an illogically believable voice asking for your sensitive information (PAN, Aadhaar, bank details, etc)
• the voice disappears and so does the money which you have been saving for the trip you have made a playlist for, and then
• you call the police and wait for the tears to stop coming out. 

Simple, isn't it?

Now what if it is a fine sunny day and that pleasing voice decides to flip the list? And the call or text that you are getting is from the police themselves, or at least that's what they would call themselves. 

Just like that, on one of those sunny days of last month, a man from Vasant Kunj, Delhi, received a call from a group of cyber criminals, who chose to be awfully specific when they posed as former Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana. The result? The man was defrauded of Rs 7.34 lakh.

In another similar type of case, last month, Mumbai Police arrested an entire ring of cyber criminals who operated country-wide and carried out several scams by calling people while they posed as police personnel. 

Now that we know there is a new type of boogeyman out there whom every person with a savings account should fear. What should be the steps that one should follow to stay safe from them? We got you covered.

What should you do?

Take the first exit you see: 

First things' first; be it Delhi, Mumbai or any state, no state police department makes unsolicited calls asking for personal information. So if you get a call like that, HANG UP. 

Know your boogeyman

If the voice on the other side becomes super persistent, get a name out of them. Don’t stop there; get the badge number and maybe even the designation, police station, their family details... Play them a little.

Don’t freeze

Do not fall flat and share your personal information at any cost. Remember, you have been planning on that trip for a long time now.

Call the real deal 

Do not pick this specific time to flex your contemplating power and immediately contact the real police to report if you receive such fraudulent or suspicious calls.

Recently, Delhi Police shared a video on their official Twitter handle where they talked about necessary actions one should take when in a similar type of situation. In the video, they also provided the helpline number and the website one should go to in case of such events.