‘Hello Am I speaking to Amaruvi Devanathan?’
‘Yes, who is this?’
‘Sir, I am calling from SBI. Need to check some details.’
‘Go ahead’
‘Sir, regarding some card detail, I want to check’
‘Yes please’
‘You have an SBI Credit card?’
‘No, I don’t.’
‘So you have a debit card, right?’
‘Oh yes. I do. What do you want to check?’
‘Actually we are issuing a new debit card. Can you tell me your card number?’
‘May I know your name and address?’
‘Raman Mehta, SBI Branch, Gandhi Nagar, Borivalli, Mumbai’
‘Why do you want my card number?’
‘Sir, I told you know. I want to check the number with what I see in the screen’
‘Ok. Here it is: 4765 1729 5456 1117’
‘Sir, only the last 4 digits are matching. Could you say again?’
‘4765 1729 5456 1117’
‘Again not matching. Can you check your card?’
‘See, I told you the number I have. Now, you tell me the number you see on the screen.’
‘No. I can’t do that. Can you check another card that you might have?’
‘No. Could you tell me my account number that you see on the screen?’
No. That is not shown. Only card number is shown. Can you please check another card?’
‘I can do that later. Now you get lost’
I have been a banker with an international bank for more than a decade. I know how scams happen and how to be safe. Hence I played along and continued the conversation. It was an obvious give away when the caller said that the last 4 digits matched. The 16 digit number was a figment of my imagination and I uttered what came to mind.
The scamster called from +91-8193-861369. Please be cautious in your calls. Never disclose personal and bank details. And never answer calls from number that are not familiar to you. In case of a genuine call, the caller would call again. Hence no worries.
P.S.: I don’t have any account with SBI – State Bank of India.
Amaruvi's Aphorisms 