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Almost a lakh fraud cases have been reported in the year 2022 as India builds its momentum towards digital payments via Unified Payment Interface or UPI. The details shared by the Finance Ministry says that more than 95,000 people were wronged by fraudsters, who were able to coerce the victim into sending them money via different UPI apps like Paytm, Google Pay, PhonePe and more. Most of these incidents are caused by people carelessly sharing personal details with the attacker, or even unknowingly sending money instead of receiving it in their account. Here are some of the main attack ploys that have helped the scammers force you into making fraud UPI payments.

Main Reasons For UPI Payment Frauds In India

UPI PIN Fraud

One of the most common instances of UPI fraud happens because the victim ends up sharing their UPI PIN through the QR code that the attacker shares with them. For instance, the scammer shares their QR code with you asking you to receive the payment through the same. Instead, the victim is unknowingly tricked into sending money to the attacker for which they use their UPI PIN. Frauds via this method have been happening for a while, forcing platforms like Paytm to include a warning pop-up box which says that you are sending money to the other person.

Calling Fake Customer Care

Yes, that’s another big modus operandi for UPI fraud cases as mentioned in a TOI report. The police quoted in the report says people end up searching for customer care numbers on Google and fall prey to scammers, who manage to retrieve personal information like bank account number, CVV number and others. Using these details the fraudsters are then able to transfer money to their account, about which the victim only knows when the amount is debited from their account and they get an SMS about the same. The frauds can be done through fake travel agents booking flight/train tickets, or even getting a hotel room booked with an advance payment.

Sharing UPI PIN With People

Over the years, people are warned about sharing their ATM PIN number with anyone, or make a note of it anywhere. Similarly, you are told to avoid sharing UPI PIN with strangers. The key to accessing your bank account via UPI apps is the UPI PIN and if anyone gets hold of that number, they can easily withdraw money from your account, which seems to be happening quite a lot.

Using Public Wi-Fi Network For Payments

Another major concern with making online payments is the use of public Wi-Fi networks. Most of these tend to be free, which is appealing to millions of smartphone users. But the free definitely comes at a price, including losing money from your bank account. Agencies and experts warn you to avoid making payments when you are connected to such Wi-Fi networks.

Not Changing UPI PIN Often

Again, like changing the ATM PIN number, experts advise that you change the UPI PIN number as well, which can help you from falling prey to such frauds.

Sending Money To The Wrong Person

The last but not the least cause is when the victim sends the money to the wrong person. The TOI report quoting the police says that people generally send money without verifying if the person requesting the money is genuine. Cases like these happen when the fraudster impersonates someone you know and messages you on apps like WhatsApp or Instagram asking for money. If that happens to you and they share a QR code for payment, never ever send money to such accounts.