UPI scam

How it works

Someone sends a "collect request" that looks like money coming in, a QR code "to receive payment", or claims they paid you by mistake and asks for it back.

Red flags

• !You are asked to enter your UPI PIN to receive money.
• !A buyer sends a QR code and asks you to scan it to get paid.
• !A payment “request” arrives when you were expecting a payment.
• !A stranger says they paid you by mistake and wants it sent back quickly.
• !A screenshot of a payment is offered as proof instead of the money arriving.

Example

Scanning a code and entering your PIN always sends money. It never receives it.

This is an illustration of the pattern, not a copy of a real message. Real ones vary in wording.

What to do

1. 01Decline the request. Do not scan the code and do not enter your PIN.
2. 02Check your real balance in your bank or UPI app before believing any payment screenshot.
3. 03If someone says they paid you by mistake, ask them to raise it with their own bank. Do not send money back yourself.
4. 04Block and report the UPI ID inside your UPI app.
5. 05If money has gone, call 1930 immediately, then your bank.

Where to report

• Your bank

  Call the number printed on the back of your card or shown in your bank’s own app, and ask them to block the card or account and dispute the transaction.

• Call 1930

  The national cyber-fraud helpline. If money has left your account, call straight away — the sooner it is reported, the better the chance of the money being frozen.

  Call 1930

• National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal

  File a complaint online at cybercrime.gov.in. Keep the acknowledgement number it gives you.

  Open cybercrime.gov.in

• Sanchar Saathi (Chakshu)

  Report the suspicious call, SMS or WhatsApp number to the Department of Telecommunications, even if you lost nothing.

  Open sancharsaathi.gov.in