Last Sunday, while driving to Manipal, I received a call from an unknown number. Since Truecaller didn’t identify the caller, I ignored it. Later, I noticed it appeared to be from Blue Dart, and because I was expecting a courier, I called back.
The caller claimed he was from Blue Dart and needed help directing a new delivery agent. He gave me a number: 21*8343751740#, instructing me to dial it to connect to the agent.
When I did, a black screen with white text appeared—something felt off. I hit “Dismiss,” but it was too late. My phone had activated call forwarding.
Suspicious, I asked a friend to call me—my phone was unreachable. Worse, I got locked out of WhatsApp. The scammer had redirected my calls and exploited it to access my WhatsApp via OTP.
In panic, I contacted tech-savvy friends. One guided me to:
Phone Settings → Call Forwarding → Remove number & disable.
That restored my call and SMS access.
However, WhatsApp was still hijacked. I requested a 6-digit code via SMS, ignored a scammer callback, and reclaimed my account.
Over the next hour, I:
✔️ Blocked credit cards
✔️ Emptied my UPI apps
✔️ Monitored all bank accounts
No money was lost, but the mental stress was immense.
Lessons I learned:
✅ Never trust unknown numbers—even if they seem legitimate.
✅ Only use official contact info from websites.
✅ If a black screen with code appears—cancel immediately.
✅ Enable 2-step verification on WhatsApp.
✅ Don’t rely solely on Truecaller or network caller IDs.
Stay alert. Scammers are evolving—and so should we. Share this.