Opposition VP candidate and Congress leader Margaret Alva took to Twitter on Monday, July 25, to claim that the public sector telecom service provider MTNL has diverted her calls, suspended her KYC details, and sent her a notice after she made a few phone calls to her ‘friends’ in BJP. It is interesting that the Congress politician chose to feign ignorance despite the Delhi police and PIB having repeatedly issued warnings about a KYC fraud that has been targeting MTNL users.
Although all the details are in the public domain, the Congress leader Tweeted on July 25, taking a dig at the BJP government in the center, “After speaking to some friends in the BJP today, all calls to my mobile are being diverted and I am unable to make or receive calls. If you restore the phone, I promise not to call any MP from the BJP, TMC, or BJD tonight.” She shared a screenshot of the message she claimed to have received from the public sector telecom service provider MTNL asking for her KYC details.
Dear BSNL/ MTNL,
— Margaret Alva (@alva_margaret) July 25, 2022
After speaking to some friends in the BJP today, all calls to my mobile are being diverted & I’m unable to make or receive calls. If you restore the phone. I promise not to call any MP from the BJP, TMC or BJD tonight.
❤️
Margaret
Ps. You need my KYC now? pic.twitter.com/Ps9VxlGNnh
Congress leader Margaret Alva has been contacting important members of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), such as Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai after the opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha lost the Presidential election to NDA candidate Draupadi Murmu by a wide margin.
Meanwhile, following the Congress leader’s fake claims, MTNL replied making it sufficiently clear that they never ask for the e-KYC on WhatsApp/SMS/Call etc. “Alert by sending messages to all GSM customers to avoid such type of EKYC SMS/WhatsApp/Calls as it may lead to some kind of fraud, hence you are requested to ignore such E-KYC messages,” read the Tweet posted by the public sector telecom service provider.
Respected Madam,
— MTNL (@MTNLOfficial) July 26, 2022
MTNL never ask for the e-KYC on WhatsApp/SMS/Call etc. ,MTNL Alert by sending messages to all GSM customers to avoid such type of EKYC SMS/WhatsApp/Calls as it may lead to some kind of fraud , hence you are requested to ignore such E-KYC messages.
BJP also hit out at the Congress leader for spreading fake news. “Why should anybody tap her phone? Let her call anybody, we’re confident about what the result of the VP election will be. Why should we do this? These are childish allegations. She’s a senior person & she should not make such allegations,” Union minister Pralhad Joshi was quoted as saying by ANI.
Why should anybody tap her phone? Let her call anybody, we’re confident about what the result of the VP election will be. Why should we do this? These are childish allegations. She’s a senior person & she should not make such allegations: Union min Pralhad Joshi on Margaret Alva pic.twitter.com/a7MXDdmgZG
— ANI (@ANI) July 26, 2022
Notably, the Delhi police had been repeatedly alerting users about the potential scam wherein fraudsters are duping customers by sending messages and asking to verify their numbers owing to Know Your Customer (KYC) issues almost a week back.
On July 19, Delhi Police warned people against a WhatsApp message that misuses MTNL’s name and logo. Sharing a screenshot of the fraudulent message in circulation, Delhi police Tweeted, “Beware! There is a sharp spike in fraudulent incidents wherein @MTNLOfficial’s name & logo are being used to commit cyber fraud. Mobile customers receive WhatsApp messages from miscreants on the pretext of KYC updation to retrieve confidential information.”
Beware❗️
— Delhi Police (@DelhiPolice) July 19, 2022
There is a sharp spike in fraudulent incidents wherein @MTNLOfficial’s name & logo are being used to commit cyber fraud. Mobile customers receive WhatsApp messages from miscreants on the pretext of KYC updation to retrieve confidential information.@DCP_CCC_Delhi pic.twitter.com/j7HFOVCbxZ
MTNL had also re-Tweeted the Delhi police’s Tweet.
Beware❗️
— Delhi Police (@DelhiPolice) July 19, 2022
There is a sharp spike in fraudulent incidents wherein @MTNLOfficial’s name & logo are being used to commit cyber fraud. Mobile customers receive WhatsApp messages from miscreants on the pretext of KYC updation to retrieve confidential information.@DCP_CCC_Delhi pic.twitter.com/j7HFOVCbxZ
In fact, the Delhi police have been shooting out such warning messages since the month of May. On May 21, the Delhi police cyber-crime cell posted a Tweet, warning users how fraudsters are sending fake messages claiming that their SIM cards will be blocked if they do not call on the phone numbers given in the message.
“You may receive a fake SMS claiming your SIM will be blocked due to KYC issues. These have numbers on which people are asked to call,” Delhi police wrote in the post, also sharing screenshots of sample messages that the fraudsters are sending to dupe customers.
You may receive a fake SMS claiming your SIM will be blocked due to KYC issues.These have📱numbers on which people are asked to call.
— IFSO/CCU Delhi Police (@DCP_CCC_Delhi) May 21, 2021
📌Never call on such fraud numbers
📌Never download any App on their instruction
📌Never make even a token payment to them@LtGovDelhi @CPDelhi pic.twitter.com/bNFkKn2vM3
Not only the Delhi police, but even Press Information Bureau (PIB) posted a Tweet, that too on May 29, 2022, warning users about the MTNL KYC scam.
A message claiming MTNL KYC getting expired within 24 Hrs. is #Fake#PIBFactCheck:
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 29, 2022
▶️ MTNL will never sms/call/Whatsapp for Tele. verification of KYC
▶️ Never respond to such fraudulent emails/SMS/calls pic.twitter.com/vaeJcyYXvx
It is nearly impossible to think that the Congress leader was oblivious to all these warnings sent to MTNL users, and wrote her tweet out of pure ignorance given the fact that the Delhi police and PIB have been issuing warnings about the potential scam for the past two months. Margret Alva, who is going all-out to challenge Jagdeep Dhankar, the governor of West Bengal and the NDA’s nominee for vice president, likely saw an opportunity to criticise the BJP leadership prior to the vice presidential elections by claiming that her phone has been purposefully blocked because she has been contacting NDA politicians to garner votes.
