What are the red flags of this scam?

No bank's credit-card offer includes a courier-delivered verification phone — this does not exist as a legitimate process • The package bears fake bank stickers or a 'DoT Secure' logo — the Department of Telecommunications does not certify individual handsets this way • The caller already knows your name and partial account details, which fraudsters buy from data brokers to appear credible • You are told to insert your own SIM card into the received device — never do this with a phone from an unknown source • Your bank OTP alerts stop arriving on your regular phone shortly after inserting your SIM into the new device

What should I do if this happened to me?

Do not insert your SIM card into any phone sent by courier unless you ordered and verified it from an official brand store • Call your bank's fraud helpline immediately if you already inserted your SIM — freeze UPI, net banking, and card transactions • Remove your SIM from the suspicious device and reinsert it into your own clean phone • Factory-reset or destroy the received device; send it to police as evidence if you have filed an FIR • Check your recent transaction history from a different device and dispute any unauthorised charges within the golden hour • Report at https://cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930 (national cyber helpline).

CRITICAL banking Last reported: 16 May 2026 Share

Bank "Prestige Card" caller couriers you a "DoT-verified" phone — inserting your SIM silently forwards all OTPs to fraudsters

Q: Is this a scam?

Yes. This is a documented scam pattern. A caller posing as a bank executive says a 'DoT verification' step is needed for your new premium card. Days later a phone arrives by courier with fake bank stickers and a counterfeit DoT Secure label. Inserting your SIM activates hidden SMS-forwarding malware — your entire account can be drained in under 24 hours.

A caller posing as a bank executive says a 'DoT verification' step is needed for your new premium card. Days later a phone arrives by courier with fake bank stickers and a counterfeit DoT Secure label. Inserting your SIM activates hidden SMS-forwarding malware — your entire account can be drained in under 24 hours.

Also known as: DoT verified phone scam, fake premium credit card phone fraud, OTP hijacking courier phone, TGCSB DoT phone advisory, Prestige Card DoT verification scam

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

Call 1930 now

1 Call 1930 — the national cyber-crime helpline — right now. The sooner you report, the better the chance of freezing the money before it moves.
2 Call your bank to freeze the account and block the card immediately. Use the number printed on your card, never a number from the message or caller.
3 File a report at cybercrime.gov.in and keep every message, screenshot, and transaction ID.

What to do right now

1 Do not insert your SIM card into any phone sent by courier unless you ordered and verified it from an official brand store
2 Call your bank's fraud helpline immediately if you already inserted your SIM — freeze UPI, net banking, and card transactions
3 Remove your SIM from the suspicious device and reinsert it into your own clean phone
4 Factory-reset or destroy the received device; send it to police as evidence if you have filed an FIR
5 Check your recent transaction history from a different device and dispute any unauthorised charges within the golden hour
6 Report at https://cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930 (national cyber helpline).

Red flags

⚠ No bank's credit-card offer includes a courier-delivered verification phone — this does not exist as a legitimate process
⚠ The package bears fake bank stickers or a 'DoT Secure' logo — the Department of Telecommunications does not certify individual handsets this way
⚠ The caller already knows your name and partial account details, which fraudsters buy from data brokers to appear credible
⚠ You are told to insert your own SIM card into the received device — never do this with a phone from an unknown source
⚠ Your bank OTP alerts stop arriving on your regular phone shortly after inserting your SIM into the new device

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

What to do right now

Red flags

Sources