In December, the Telecom Department of India asked phone companies to play a cybercrime awareness caller tune for everyone, like, 8-10 times a day for three months. This was to help people stay safe online. But, you know, it means that even if you’ve heard it several times, or if you’re trying to make an urgent call, you still have to listen, which is a real pain for many people.
The caller tune alerts people to be cautious of calls from unknown numbers, especially those claiming to be from authorities. You may have heard “Saavdhaan. Agar aapko anjane number se police judge ya cbi ke call aate hai…” which translates to “Beware. If you get calls from unknown numbers claiming to be police, judge, or CBI…” and so on. The message may also play in your regional language.
Unfortunately, there’s no simple way to just turn this cybercrime awareness caller tune off. But I’ve found a few little tricks to skip it and get your calls going right away. Let’s get to those.
Method 1: Skip the Cybercrime Caller Tune By Pressing #
For many users, simply pressing a number key on the dial pad when the cybercrime message begins playing skips the caller tune. Specifically, several users have reported that pressing the # key has helped them connect the call directly, avoiding the scam warning message delay.
This is similar to how users skipped the COVID awareness caller tune in the past. However, it’s worth noting that users have also mentioned that this method may not work all the time.
Method 2: Redialing the Number
Another method is to simply disconnect the call when the cybercrime caller tune begins playing and then redial the number. You should not hear the warning again upon redialing. This can be helpful in emergency situations when the initial call fails to connect and leaves you waiting for the warning to finish.
When Will That Cybercrime Message Go Away?
As mentioned, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has directed telecom operators, including Airtel, Jio, Vi, and BSNL, to play these awareness tunes for a period of three months, repeating them 8-10 times a day. Given that the directive was issued in December 2024, we expect these messages to around March of 2025.
