A stranger asks you to merge a call — your bank OTP goes straight to the scammer
A caller poses as a mutual friend's contact and asks you to merge a call. The incoming call is your bank's IVR reading out an OTP. The scammer hears it live, completes a UPI or net-banking transaction, and drains your account.
Also known as: call merging scam, conference call OTP fraud, merge call bank fraud, call bridge OTP scam
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
Call 1930 now- 1 Call 1930 — the national cyber-crime helpline — right now. The sooner you report, the better the chance of freezing the money before it moves.
- 2 Call your bank to freeze the account and block the card immediately. Use the number printed on your card, never a number from the message or caller.
- 3 File a report at cybercrime.gov.in and keep every message, screenshot, and transaction ID.
What to do right now
- 1 Never merge or conference a call with any unknown number, regardless of what the first caller tells you
- 2 If you have already merged calls, hang up immediately and check your bank account for unauthorized transactions
- 3 Call your bank's fraud helpline (on the back of your card) to freeze any pending transactions; freeze your UPI in your UPI app
- 4 Change your UPI PIN, net banking password, and MPIN immediately from a trusted device
- 5 Report at https://cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930 (national cyber helpline).
Red flags
- ⚠ Any caller who asks you to merge or conference in a third number — no matter how friendly or convincing — should be treated as a scam
- ⚠ After merging, the second call plays an automated banking voice system (IVR) delivering an OTP — the scammer hears it and uses it instantly
- ⚠ Scammers time the merge request precisely when a transaction OTP is being delivered to your number
- ⚠ You may receive a bank debit alert moments after the merged call ends, for a transaction you never initiated
- ⚠ The first caller may suddenly 'lose signal' or end the call abruptly once the OTP has been captured
Sources
- NPCI — Warning on call merging scam targeting UPI users
- Business Standard — NPCI warns against call merging scam: How to remain protected
- I4C/MHA — Fraudsters exploit call merge feature to steal OTPs
- The Logical Indian — Call-merge OTP fraud rapidly spreading across India
- QuickHeal — The merge call scam deconstructed
- BioCatch — A scam type grows in India (call-merge chain targeting doctors)