Odisha Govt Issues Advisory Against 5G Fraud; Know Preventive Steps

Bhubaneswar: With the Centre announcing that the 5G network service would be available in Odisha from next year, the state government has cautioned the people against fraudsters offering to help them in switch-over.

The Electronics and Information Technology Department in its official Twitter handle said since the people eager to switch over to faster 5G network, the fraudsters would try take advantage of it.

The department also issued an advisory on how the frauds would operate to trap the innocent people and precautionary steps to be taken to prevent falling victim to them.

It said the fraudsters target the victims through phone calls or text messages on social media, SMS, WhatsApp, etc. Once the call is received or link is clicked, fraudsters send SMS offering an upgrade of the existing 4G plan to 5G plan. They would also cunningly obtain OTP and other details from the targeted person in the process.

As preventive step, the department advised the people to block the phone number of they get a call making such request. It also said they should refrain from clicking any suspicious link even from known people offering such help.

Affirming that telecom companies never ask for OTPs to provide 5G service, the department said if anybody calls or sends message offering advanced booking or special discounts, those should be treated as frauds and must not be entertained.

It may be noted that Union Minister of Railways, Communication, Electronics and Information Ashwini Vaishnaw recently announced that 8 cities of Odisha have been listed for the 5G services by March 31, 2023 in the first phase.