UPI Scam Growing Rapidly Delhi Police Shared Fraud Entrapment Tactics How to Safeguard Yourself

UPI scam has gained momentum, due to which government agencies are asking people to be cautious and are making various efforts to make them aware. The scope of online payments has increased rapidly in the last few years. In May this year, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions made a record, in which 14.04 billion UPI transactions took place, whose value was approximately $ 20.45 trillion. This is why Delhi Police has also asked people to be cautious. The department has also shared some ways to avoid fraud related to UPI.

TOI’s AccordingA large number of UPI-related financial scams took place in the capital Delhi in the first half of 2024. According to police data, 25,924 UPI-related complaints were registered till June this year. According to the report, a police officer said that many methods are used in UPI related scams to steal money, such as fake payment screenshots, fake UPI QR codes, screen monitoring apps etc. Let us tell you about everything in detail.

Fake UPI QR Codes: Scammers send fake UPI QR codes to victims, which take them to wrong websites or apps. These web or apps are designed in such a way that the financial details of the user are stolen here.

Screen Monitoring Apps: There are many apps that can give scammers or hackers access to the devices on which those apps are installed. These apps record all the activities going on on the screen of the device or the activities going on on the device can be seen live by the scammers and in such a situation the financial details, OTP or PIN of the user can get into the hands of the scammers.

Collect Request: Scammers send a request for money to the target through any UPI app. They trick the target and get the request executed.

“Friend in Need” Scam: In this scam, scammers introduce the target to be a distant friend or relative and talk to them as if they are in an emergency and ask to send money as soon as possible for help. In such a situation, people transfer money in a hurry without thinking or verifying the identity of the person.

Fake Payment Screenshots: In this, scammers create a fake transaction screenshot and show it to the target saying that they have sent them more money by mistake. They then ask the target to send that money back.

Delhi Police has requested the users of UPI service to avoid such scams and has also told them ways to avoid it.

According to the police, verify any transaction directly through the UPI app. When a friend or family member asks for money, verify the person’s identity. For this, you can disconnect the call and directly call the number of that friend or family member. Apart from this, do not send money by scanning a QR code in a hurry, instead after scanning the QR, check the name of the merchant carefully and only then make the payment. Also, do not share sensitive information like your PIN or OTP with anyone. Banks or any financial service never take such information from their customers or users.