Old coin buyer numbers

Old coin and note buyer contact numbers: how to tell a real buyer from a fake

Any old coin or note buyer’s contact number can be judged with one test: if the “buyer” asks you to pay anything before you are paid, whether a registration fee, GST, TDS or “RBI clearance”, the number is fake, because a real buyer never asks the seller for money. This page lists no buyer numbers. It shows where these numbers come from, how to look one up on the government’s cyber-crime portal and what that lookup cannot prove, which old notes no buyer can legally take, and how to sell without putting your own number out.

Real or fake: follow the money

A buyer who asks you for money is not a buyer. Registration, GST, TDS, insurance, courier, “RBI clearance”, an NOC: whatever it is called, money in a sale travels one way, buyer to seller. Official-looking logos, stamps and certificates sent with the number change nothing.
If the “buyer” sends you a UPI ID, QR code or bank account of their own, they are setting up a payment from you: someone paying you needs your account, not theirs (the QR-code and PIN tricks, explained).
A price in lakhs, quoted off a photo, is the first rung of the fraud: the bigger the promise, the smaller each fee looks beside it. Check what ordinary notes and coins really sell for, and see the whole fee ladder, with one case itemised rupee by rupee.
A buyer who says they are “RBI approved” fails the same test. The RBI does not deal in buying or selling old notes and coins, never seeks charges or commission of any sort, and has authorised nobody to collect charges or commission on its behalf (RBI press release, 4 August 2021; the RBI’s own words).

Where the numbers come from: recent cases

Case	How it started	Promised (not a value)	Money demanded for	Outcome
Qutbiguda, Hyderabad — Deccan Chronicle, 27 Sep 2026	A social-media ad; the seller contacted the number given in it, then, when asked, sent photos of the note with his personal details	₹45 lakh for one old ₹1 note	Taxes and “RBI clearances”, because the money was supposedly frozen; then someone posing as a DSP of the Andhra Pradesh Cybercrime Police accused him of dealing in black money	More than ₹7.9 lakh lost between 20 and 23 September
Nagpur — Free Press Journal, 27 Sep 2026	A Facebook ad, then a call from an unknown number and a WhatsApp group	₹55.21 lakh for a collection of old notes	A ₹550 registration fee first; then processing fees and taxes, backed by forged income-tax clearances, insurance papers and fake government stamps	₹23.26 lakh lost between 30 August and 17 September
A letter in the RBI’s name — PIB Fact Check, 27 Feb 2026	A letter circulating in the RBI’s name	₹34,00,000 in exchange for old coins	A ₹700 “form charge” and a ₹12,150 “delivery fee”	PIB: the letter is fake, a scam, and not related to the RBI

How to check a number, and what a check cannot prove

Look it up. On cybercrime.gov.in, go to “Report & Check Suspect”, then “Suspect Repository”, then “Check Suspect (mobile, email, etc.)”. You can search a mobile number, email address, bank account, UPI ID or social-media account for complaints filed against it. Enter the mobile number without +91.
No result does not mean safe. The portal itself says the list is built from public complaints, is not complete, and that fraudsters create, change and drop these identifiers quickly; it also says it does not certify that the complaints are true. So a match is a warning, and no match proves nothing. What exposes a fake is the money test above.
Nothing lost, but someone tried: report the phone number, WhatsApp number or link through Report Suspect on the same portal, or report the suspicious call, SMS or WhatsApp message on Chakshu (Sanchar Saathi) within 30 days.
Already paid: Chakshu is not for that. Ring 1930, the national helpline for reporting cyber financial fraud, run by the Home Ministry’s I4C, or file online at cybercrime.gov.in. Then lodge a written complaint with your local police. Keep screenshots of the chat, the number and every payment receipt.
Checking a website rather than a number? That takes different checks, from company registration to where your number ends up: is a coin website real or fake?

Selling old notes? Some no buyer can legally take

What you have	Can a buyer take it?	What to do instead
Old ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes, withdrawn on 8 November 2016	No. Section 5 of the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Act, 2017 forbids knowingly or voluntarily holding, transferring or receiving them. The only allowance for an ordinary person is keeping a few: ten in all, or twenty-five for study, research or numismatics (RBI FAQ).	Do not sell or buy them. Section 7 of the Act sets a fine of up to ₹10,000, or up to five times the notes’ face value if that is more. Turn down any “buyer” who offers to take them off you or have them exchanged.
₹2,000 notes	No buyer is needed: ₹2,000 notes remain legal tender.	Bank branches exchanged and accepted them only until 7 October 2023. Take them to one of the RBI’s 19 Issue Offices to exchange or to deposit in your bank account, or post them through India Post from any post office to an Issue Office and the money is credited to your account (RBI, 1 May 2026). The 19 cities are listed in what to do with old coins and notes.
₹1 notes, and ₹2 and ₹5 notes (no longer printed)	Yes. The RBI FAQ says they remain legal tender, and collectors do buy them, but an ordinary one is worth its face value.	Only certain issues carry a premium, such as a particular signature or serial number. See what notes like yours actually sold for before you weigh any offer.

How to sell without giving out your number

Find out what yours is worth first. Once you know a real figure, an offer in lakhs looks absurd on sight: coin values · why asking prices are not sale prices.
You do not need a buyer in your own city. The coin market is national, not local: courier works nationwide, and where you live changes the postage and nothing else (city pages).
If you post it, payment comes first. Send the parcel only once the money shows in your own bank app or passbook. A “payment done” screenshot or a “credited” SMS can be faked in seconds.
Posting your own ad on a classifieds site or social media? Leave your phone number out of it (how). For every option, from dealers to coin fairs, see where to sell old coins in India.
On The Currency Bazaar your phone number is not shown; buyers talk to you in the site’s own chat. Every chat message is scanned for fee demands and similar tricks, and a message caught asking you for money carries a warning before you reply. We take 0% of the sale, and the buyer pays you directly. No website can guarantee every stranger, though, so the money test above still applies here.

Sell without showing your number

A one-time plan from ₹99, with 0% commission on the sale. Buyers reach you by chat, your phone number stays hidden, and a message caught asking you for money carries a warning. A real buyer pays you, never the other way round.

See the plans

Last updated: 2026-10-04