Call Forwarding Scam to Gain Control of E-Wallet
Hanoi police have just warned about the trick of impersonating switchboard operators to take control of users' SIM cards and calls, then log into accounts and steal money.
According to Hanoi City Police, criminals often pretend to be customer service staff of network operators, banks, and e-wallets to call their "prey" to pretend to help resolve problems. Then, they ask customers to text according to the given syntax, but in reality, they are diverting calls to take control of the customer's phone SIM.
Usually, scammers ask customers to text the syntax **21*#. However, this is a call forwarding syntax of network operators, allowing mobile subscribers to forward calls to another network or other network phone number.
Once they manipulate the call, they will remotely log into the victim's Momo wallet application. When the Momo switchboard calls to provide the OTP code, the call will be redirected to the scammer's phone number. From there, they can easily steal money from the wallet and bank accounts linked to the e-wallet.
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| Police warn of new scam. Photo: Provided by Police |
Another way is for the scammer to ask the customer to text DS to 901. This is the syntax to change the phone SIM to a blank SIM card by texting. Then, they will send a scam message saying they will help the user upgrade the phone SIM to a 4G or 5G SIM. When the operation is successful, the user will lose control of the SIM because the scammer's SIM becomes the owner's SIM.
Once they have taken control of the SIM, all incoming calls to the user's phone number are immediately forwarded to the scammers' phone number. At this point, they will log into the victim's social media, bank, and e-wallet accounts and select the "forgot password" feature. The service provider will send an OTP authentication code to their phone SIM and from there they will steal money.
In many cases, bad guys use victims' information to borrow money through online apps.
