[RaghuVis]

Suddenly, there is a big spike in international /app-based incoming calls that are fraud - Mostly, they are TRAI calls threatening to block my number. Does having a premium Truecaller subscription automatically block these numbers, or are they just too much now that they cannot be handled? It is a bit tiring to cut at least 5-6 calls daily.

[KiloAlpha]

I have two attempted scams to report.

First Scam: Orthodox FedEx scam.
Someone calls my wife's phone and introduces themselves as an executive from FedEx. Then they proceed to ask if her name is my son's name. First red flag.
Then they continue on to telling her that a parcel she sent to Iran (!!!) had drugs in it, and it has been intercepted by Customs. Second red flag.
She then presses him for more details, and suddenly the outbound parcel has now become an inbound parcel. Third red flag.
At this point in time, she couldn't help herself and she actually laughed at him. The scammer, nonplussed, asked her why she was laughing. I will give it to my wife, she is good at sales, because she proceeded to convince the scammer to admit to being an idiot, apologise to her, and then cut the call.

Second Scam: Phishing
I have exactly one credit card. I have been considering getting a second card, and the HDFC Swiggy co-branded card has been on my radar.
So yesterday, my regular relationship manager from HDFC calls me and I told that I wanted that card. She was more than happy to arrange it for me, and in about an hour the application for the card was in their system. Overnight, I get a message from HDFC Bank saying that my card will be delivered within 7 business days.
This morning, I have received at least 4 calls, each one from a different mobile number (red flag one). The script is the same. Lady in an untrained voice (red flag two) says she is calling from HDFC Bank credit card department, asks me in Hindi if I had applied for a credit card.
On the first call, since red flags were going up, I played dumb and pretended I did not know Hindi, so could she please speak in either English or Kannada or Tamil. Lady asks the same question in English, and then very brusquely asks me to confirm my date of birth (red flag three). I said I wouldn't share my details. She cut the call.
All subsequent calls were cut as soon as I declined to speak in Hindi.

Lessons To Learn:

1. Be confident that you haven't send or expecting any package from a random country you have no dealings with. A history book is as far as our relationship with Iran goes.
2. All criminal or enforcement procedures in our country are always offline. You will always, without exception, get notice via registered letter or a knock on the door.
3. Calls from legitimate business' call centres mostly always have a landline caller ID, or any caller ID app worth its salt will recognise the number as a business.
4. No legitimate business calling you asks for your personal details.
5. Call centres of larger organisations always have multiple teams proficient in different languages, and if the customer expresses a preference for a different language the call will be transferred to another team.