Alert! Fraudsters posing as 5G service agents waiting to dupe you

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the 5G services in India on October 1 at the India Mobile Congress. The event witnessed telecom giants like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel sharing their vision to take 5G services to every nook and corner of the country.

Reliance Jio rolled out True 5G in select cities of the country on October 5. The 5G services were rolled out in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Varanasi for Jio users by invitation.

During the launch of 5G services, Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal announced the launch of its 5G services in eight cities including the four metros.

As the telecom giants have unveiled their plans to woo the customers, certain anti-social elements looking to dupe the innocent customers have also surfaced. The law enforcing authorities in several states of India have warned the netizens against fraudsters impersonating as representatives of telecom companies who are promising customers with attractive 5G network plans.

Recently, the Hyderabad Police shared a video on Twitter warning the people to be cautious against such impersonators. “Beware of #5G Upgradation sim scam. Don’t fall prey to cyber fraudsters who can dupe you on the pretext of upgrading your sims”, the police tweeted.

On October 12, the Mumbai Police had shared a similar tweet warning Mumbaikars against such hoax calls. “Risk Alert! Upgradation in tech brings about a new wave of scammers waiting to pounce. The most recent one is fraudsters offering to guide you to convert to 5G. Do not share your personal/banking information or click on any unknown links”, the Mumbai Police tweeted.

Here are three important points you need to keep in mind if you get a call from anyone claiming to be a telecom company representative offering 5G plans.

1. Don’t click on links in the messages asking for upgradation from 4G to 5G network.

2. Do not share your personal details with scammers who call you up claiming to be representatives of telecom companies.

3. Do not entertain messages asking you to follow steps to upgrade your 4G plan to 5G plan.