If the voice on the other end of the phone introduces themselves as a police officer, prosecutor, or MASAK official and frightens you with a crime, stop. In this article, we explain how to protect yourself against these fraud methods and how to distinguish the truth.
Introducing oneself as someone working for a state organ is the most common method scammers use. Usually, the person on the other end uses a very harsh, authoritative, and hurried tone. They try to convince you that you are part of a crime. They may use artificial background noises like radio chatter or office sounds to increase the seriousness of the environment. The purpose of these sounds is to prevent you from thinking logically and cause you to panic.
Scammers usually obtain your name, surname, and sometimes address information beforehand. When they call you, they try to gain trust using this information. When they give a few correct details about you, they expect you to assume everything else is true as well. However, this information can be easily obtained today through various digital leaks or social media.
One of the most popular scenarios is that your identity information has been captured by a terrorist organization and phone lines or bank accounts have been opened in your name. They tell you that your ID was found at a crime scene. They claim they are conducting an operation to fix this situation and need your help. At this stage, they instruct you not to go anywhere and never hang up the phone.
In this scenario, you should pay attention to these elements:
Recently, MASAK has been one of the institutions most used by scammers. They call you and say your accounts are being investigated, suspicious money movements have been detected, or you are under suspicion of money laundering. They claim that the money in your account will be blocked, so you need to transfer the money to a safe account.
The most important rule you need to know here is this: MASAK or any bank auditing institution does not call citizens by phone and ask them to send the money in their accounts to another account. The state does not have an application called a safe account, and delivering money by hand or sending it to another IBAN address is a complete deception.
The scammers' biggest fear is that you will get help from a relative or a real police officer. To prevent this, they say there is a confidentiality order on the file. They scare you by stating that if you tell anyone, you will go to jail or the operation will be deciphered. Sometimes they even claim that you should not hang up the phone so your charge does not run out, and if you hang up, you will be considered a criminal.
In the real legal system, a confidentiality order is between the parties of the investigation and the authorities. A citizen applying to official authorities to get information about their own safety or situation does not violate the confidentiality order. If they are trying to keep you from talking to anyone, this is definitely a sign of fraud.
Sometimes the number calling on your phone may really look like the number of a police station or an official institution. Thanks to technological possibilities, scammers can change caller ID information. This is called spoofing or number masking. Even if you see a number like 155 or 0555 000 00 00 on your screen, there is no guarantee that this number actually comes from that institution.
Applications like Turkcaller can help you see if such numbers have been reported by others before. However, no matter what, you should not approach the number you see on your screen with full confidence; when in doubt, you should hang up and call the institution back using the official number you found yourself.
When law enforcement units or judicial authorities want to contact you about a matter, the paths they follow are clear. In most cases, a notification is sent to you, or police officers go to your registered address to invite you to give a statement. Even if you are called by phone, this call is only made for the purpose of inviting you to the nearest police station or prosecutor's office.
The following situations are never done by a real public official:
If you receive such a call, staying calm is the most important step. The person opposite may yell or threaten you to scare you. In this case, follow these steps without panicking:
The following table will help you understand whether the situation you encounter is real or a fraud attempt.
| Situation | Real Public Official | Scammer |
|---|---|---|
| Money Request | Absolutely does not request. | Requests for a safe account or operation. |
| Communication Channel | Official notification or invitation to the station. | Pressure only over the phone. |
| Information Request | Verifies your identity, does not ask for passwords. | Asks for card passwords and all your assets. |
| Behavior Style | Uses an official and distant language. | Speaks threateningly, hurriedly, and frighteningly. |
Turkcaller has a wide data pool thanks to its user community. When a number tries to defraud someone, that user can mark that number as scammer or spam through the application. When the same number calls you, you will see this warning on the screen while your phone is ringing.
You can also check the identity of unknown numbers by doing a number lookup within the app. For example, when you are called from a number like 0555 000 00 00, Turkcaller shows you how many people have blocked this number before or with which tags it was saved. This way, you will be prepared before answering the phone.
But remember that scammers can constantly get new numbers. If you do not see a warning about a number but the person on the other end is asking for money, you should still apply the security rules we explained above.
For scammers to call you, they must have reached your number somehow. To increase your security in the digital world, you can take these measures:
Even if the person calling you is not successful, this is a criminal attempt. It is a civic duty to apply to legal remedies so that these people do not victimize others. Share all the information you have (call time, number, conversation content) with the authorities.
You can file a criminal complaint by submitting a petition to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Offices. You can also report the situation to the relevant units of the General Directorate of Security. Remember that reporting ensures that the lines used by scammers are closed and their networks are dismantled.
Phone fraud is a method based entirely on fear and making you hurry. You are safe as long as you know that no official of the state will ask you for money or gold over the phone. No matter how convincing the person on the other end seems, closing the subject and verifying through an official channel will always protect you.
By using auxiliary tools like Turkcaller, you can have control over unidentified calls. Providing your own safety and informing your loved ones about this issue is the biggest obstacle for such criminal networks.
No, no police officer, prosecutor, or gendarmerie personnel requests money, gold, or bank passwords from citizens over the phone.
No, 155 is only a line you would call to ask for help. Security units do not call you via the number 155; this is a number spoofing method.
Absolutely not. MASAK or any public institution does not ask you to send your money to another account; there is no such practice.
Information such as your name and address may have leaked onto the internet through various data breaches. Having this information does not prove they are official personnel.
This is an artificial sound recording used by scammers to make you believe them. A real police officer does not let you listen to the radio sound while an operation is in progress.
No, terminating a suspicious call does not make you guilty. On the contrary, you protect yourself.
A real prosecutor would at most invite you to the courthouse to give a statement. They never conduct an interrogation or talk about money over the phone.
Turkcaller collects spam and fraud numbers reported by users in a pool and warns you in advance when these numbers call you.
Call your bank immediately to try to stop the transaction and go to the nearest police station without wasting time to file a criminal complaint.
There may be confidentiality in investigations, but this is not a situation that prevents you from getting information or asking for help from official authorities.
You can use the Turkcaller app to protect yourself from suspicious calls and find out who is calling you. Our app helps you detect fraud attempts and increase your security thanks to user reports.
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