[Turbotechnixx]

Recently, a lot of TATA Nexon EV car owners (including me) started to get calls from scammers pretending to be calling from TATA Motors who have all the details of vehicle ownership asking you to renew or buy their RSA for a meager sum of Rs. 3500.00 for 3 years. The payment will be accepted by Cash/ Gpay/ Credit Card. They also send you messages from " TM-ECOMEX" that your order number xxx will be delivered today and pay Rs. 3500.Well, frankly I too was about to fall for this scam but the only mistake they did was that they called me at least 4 times to confirm that they are dispatching the card I should make the payment to the guy on receipt of the card. Just out of curiosity I called up Puneet Motors, Mumbai when my sales executive informed me that It was a scam and a lot of customers have received this call.

I also spoke to a guy from TATA Motors who is a product specialist and he too said that they are aware of such a scam and that the database has been hacked by a Delhi based group. My only question is if TATA Motors is so well aware of this case why have they not informed the customers to not fall for such scams. Are they waiting for some big disaster to happen?

[gischethans]

These are long-running scams and happen with customers of other automakers as well. There are quite many threads in this forum with BHPians describing the harassment. More than hacks (which cannot be ruled out entirely) it is the leakage points everywhere - dealers, insurance agents, RTO etc. that result in these.

Examples -
https://www.team-bhp.com/news/mahind...-customer-data
https://www.team-bhp.com/news/got-sc...s-lost-rs-4500
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...cam-calls.html (Beware of RSA scam calls)

[ranjith_cbz]

Originally Posted by Turbotechnixx

My only question is if TATA Motors is so well aware of this case why have they not informed the customers to not fall for such scams. Are they waiting for some big disaster to happen?

Simple, they don't care enough about us. TATA or for that matter any manufacture who don't handle customer's data with the sensitivity and care it requires are just proving that point. They won't send the proactive circular about this scam for few as simple reasons as

1.It might cost them few Rupees to send SMS/Email blast and can save on such avoidable expenses which don't contribute to their bottom line.

2.There's no one in-charge of data privacy and confidentiality at TM. Even if there is one they have to take multiple approvals to send the blast.

3.They can feign ignorance when some customer looses money and complains to TM and can simply point out to a generic guideline on their website in some
obscure corner about "Being aware of impersonators selling something in the name of TM".

Sounds sad reading the above but that is the apathy of automakers or anyone towards their customers who have lax data privacy guidelines and practices in this country's absence of any strong legal and punitive framework.

[Nikhil Beke]

Originally Posted by ranjith_cbz

They won't send the proactive circular about this scam for few as simple reasons as ...

1.It might cost them few Rupees to send SMS/Email blast and can save on such avoidable expenses which don't contribute to their bottom line.

3.They can feign ignorance when some customer looses money and complains to TM and can simply point out to a generic guideline on their website in some
obscure corner about "Being aware of impersonators selling something in the name of TM".

Beg to differ here: have been seeing this warning as a pop-up notification from their service app (TMSC)- and also remember seeing SMS also regarding this.

[ranjith_cbz]

Originally Posted by Nikhil Beke

Beg to differ here: have been seeing this warning as a pop-up notification from their service app (TMSC)- and also remember seeing SMS also regarding this.

Appreciate TM doing this but not convinced that it's enough on their part as one customer(OP) is not aware of any such circular and almost bit the bait. Also TM is conveniently omitting the facts and reasons(data leak) that lead to scamsters getting hold of their customer data base with all their details.

Reading that communication is giving a vibe that the onus is on the customer to not fall for such scams but the brand is absolved of any responsibility for data leak. This I see across different industries(banks, ecommerce brands etc).

Agreed that the leaks can happen at various levels beyond the brand's control but I see no proactive steps taken to see that it doesn't repeat. I am saying this as a victim of these scams and dread the time of my annual insurance renewal as I get calls from various insurers mentioning my name, vehicle make, model and insurance expiry date etc never soliciting their services nor sharing my personal details with them.

[Turbotechnixx]

Update: The guy actually reached below my house to deliver the card. He called me again that he is below the building and if the cash is ready. I acted as if he made a wrong call and completely ignored his conversation by saying it was a wrong number. It is a very serious matter now since these guys have started to visit houses to collect cash.

[gururajrv]

Oh god! This is a security flaw for an individual as well. Imagine if hackers are able to hack into database of the company, what if vehicles go completely smart and rely heavily on internet! It'll be an easy prey for pro hackers which will put customers life at risk! This is one reason why I hate the dependency on tech being high these days as I am too.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by Turbotechnixx

Update: The guy actually reached below my house to deliver the card. He called me again that he is below the building and if the cash is ready. I acted as if he made a wrong call and completely ignored his conversation by saying it was a wrong number. It is a very serious matter now since these guys have started to visit houses to collect cash.

In case you have CCTV footage, you should report this to the police. If they have gone to the extent of actually coming to your house to ask for money, they might as well do so again towards more nefarious ends, especially considering they have physically scouted the place now.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by gischethans

These are long-running scams and happen with customers of other automakers as well. There are quite many threads in this forum with BHPians describing the harassment.

+1 to that. More than at Tata's end or a database hack, this is a plain & simple leak by a human being. Most likely from the dealership. In one of my earlier businesses, we had been offered a database of premium car owners from Mumbai for a paltry Rs. 10,000 IIRC. It was accurate because I saw some knowns there.

[Turbohead]

Most likely, it's the dealership/ dealership representative that would've sold the data. Hacking, although possible, seems very unlikely. I won't be surprised if Tata themselves have sold the data.

FYI, the union minister of MORTH proudly told parliament that they made a mere 50 crores after selling the database of all license holders.Link: https://thelogicalindian.com/news/go...stration-data/

All of this is actually legal, even though it's unethical, because there is no requirement of GDPR in India.

[coldice4u]

I can confirm that i too received a call of questionable origins yesterday for my Tiago EV booking. The caller called for a "survey" and quite late towards the day. But i could not really make out what was the purpose of the call at all as they didnt ask any kind of questions at all.
I was really surprised to hear that the caller with questionable origins (Truecaller indicated that the caller was from Bihar) had quite a disturbing amount of details including the variant booked, my email etc. I was extra careful about not divulging information.

As of today, i'm still not sure if it was a legit call for my booking, but this thread leads me to believe that it indeed was a call out to make scams.

[cryptarchy]

Every year before insurance renewal I get quotations from other providers that contain all my registration data, down to chassis number. I am sure this is either a leak at dealership level or insurance agent level. We don’t have data protection laws in our country, so people play fast and loose with personally identifiable data.

[RunGaDa]

Law makers busy doing politics, implementing projects which only benefit their own family and relatives. Who has the time or intent to protect customers sensitive data? Seriously, data protection is a joke in India.
I too get so many calls and sms when renewals for my vehicles are due. I am forced to consider changing to 3 yearly to reduce the headache.

Scams arising out of leaked sensitive information is dangerous. As a customer what can be done to safeguard from such things?
Every day there’s some new way to clean up someone of their savings.

[SulemanP]

Scammers may take different route, let me share my experience - Sometime in 2020 I received a call from a gentleman, he said "your subscription to xxxx Gold scheme has come to an end and today is the last day to renew the scheme failing which the subscription will lapse and you will lose the Gold in your account" (don't remember how much Gold he stated)

When I got the call, I was in office and in a middle of some meeting, at first I was astonished to know that I have subscribed to such a scheme (which I am not aware of) & said "I have not subscribed, you may have got the wrong person" (Normally this would be anyone's response when he/she is not aware of any such doings). Then he stated that our advertisements are put up on various websites, 1st year is complimentary subscription & you may have unknowingly clicked on one such advertisements.
Hence, your account got created and today is the last date of renewal (I was still not convinced) he then went ahead and told me to download an app from Google Play Store. he said once I download & Install it, a code will pop up and I need to give that code to him. 'Puzzled' I said can you call me later as I am in a meeting and need time to do so.

After a minute the meeting got over - I googled what that app was all about, it was similar to "Team viewer" for people who are not aware of the app it is something that you can give control of your device to anyone who has installed "Team viewer" and the code that reflects on your device - Good I checked about it and got to know about his intentions. A few seconds later I get a call from the same gentleman, and he started asking me about the app and code to which I gave an incorrect code number. Immediately this guy understood that I have come to know what this was all about and disconnected the phone.

I was not a TeamBHP member back then, but I made sure to pass this information to all my contacts so that they are aware of such malpractices.

My suggestion to all is - Ask for some time in such cases so you get time to review what is happening & you can also consult a known person and save yourself from falling prey to such scammers.

[TURBO28]

Slightly off topic, Mods please remove the post if found irrelevant.
This is not only going on with TATA. This is also happening with the so called reliable brand Toyota. We purchased a Toyota Innova Crysta in August 2022 and last week got a call and the conversation went something like this:
Scammer: Hello
Me: Hello, may I know who this is?
Scammer: I am calling from Toyota
Me: Yes, tell me
Scammer: You have recently purchased a Innova Crysta?
Me: Yes, we did purchase
Scammer: This is in regard to the RSA card for your vehicle
Me: Okay, I do not require the RSA card, you can keep it with you.
Scammer: Okay, thank you.
(The conversation which took place is not exact to the word which took place, but something similar as far as I can remember)

Then I hung up the call. This is kind of becoming a serious issue, don’t really know from where the data is leaking, is it from the sales or the service?

Got to be really careful with all that’s going on.

Thank you.