A former United Nations (UN) official has warned people against a new One-Time Password (OTP) scam and urged her contacts not to entertain any requests for money from her number.
In a post on X, UN former assistant secretary-general Lakshmi Puri said she received a phone call from a saved number and the caller asked her to share an OTP they "mistakenly" sent to her contact.
The moment she shared the OTP, her WhatsApp stopped working and multiple contacts on her phone started receiving calls from her number asking for money.
"I received a call from a number saved on my device yesterday evening. Since the person was known to me and she requested an OTP, which she said she had mistakenly sent to my number, I gave it to her. Following this, my WhatsApp stopped working and some people in my contacts started receiving calls from my number asking for money," the former Indian diplomat said.
Ms Puri has asked her friends and acquaintances not to respond to any such calls or requests to send money from her number. She wrote, "This is to caution all my friends and acquaintances who have my number saved on their phones not to respond to any such calls or demands for money.
The victim has registered a complaint with the Cyber Crime Department of the Delhi Police. "The matter has been reported to the Cyber Crime Department of @DelhiPolice and will be resolved soon," she concluded her post.
I received a call from a number saved on my device yesterday evening. Since the person was known to me and she requested for an OTP which she said she had mistakenly sent to my number I gave it to her. Following this my WhatsApp stopped working and some people in my contacts…
— Lakshmi M Puri (@lakshmiunwomen) May 2, 2025
The new scam Ms Puri fell prey to came within months of authorities alerting people against fraudsters tricking people into merging calls and unknowingly sharing OTPs. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on its X account warned users, saying, "Scammers are using call merging to trick you into revealing OTPs. Don't fall for it! Stay alert and protect your money."
Scammers are using call merging to trick you into revealing OTPs. Don't fall for it! Stay alert and protect your money. ???????? Share this post to spread awareness!#UPI #CyberSecurity #FraudPrevention #StaySafe #OnlineFraudAwareness #SecurePayments pic.twitter.com/kZ3TmbyVag
— UPI (@UPI_NPCI) February 14, 2025
The OTP scam, according to authorities, usually begin with a scammer calling a person and saying that they obtained their number from a friend. They then request you to merge the call with a "friend" calling from a different number.
As soon as you merge the call, they are unknowingly connected to an OTP verification call from their bank. The scammer then manipulates the victim to share the OTP with them. Once they do so, the fraudsters complete the transaction and steal your money.
According to a survey conducted in January, more than one-third of Indians have been victims of real-time payment scams.
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