UPI Scam: UPI scams are increasing rapidly, police shared ways to avoid them..

UPI scams have gained momentum, due to which government agencies are asking people to be cautious and are engaged in 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 set a record, with 14.04 billion UPI transactions, worth about $20.45 trillion. This is why the Delhi Police has also asked people to be careful. The department has also shared some ways to avoid UPI fraud.

According to TOI, a very 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 to steal money in UPI scams, such as fake payment screenshots, fake UPI QR codes, screen monitoring apps, etc. Let us tell you about all of them in detail.

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

Screen Monitoring Apps: Many apps can give scammers or hackers access to the devices on which those apps are installed. These apps record all the activities going on the screen of the device or the activity going on the device can be seen live by the scammers and in such a situation, the user's financial details, OTP, or PIN can come 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, the scammers introduce themselves as a distant friend or relative of the target and talk to him as if he is stuck in an emergency and ask him 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 that person.

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

According to the police, verify any transaction directly through the UPI app. If a friend or family member asks for money, verify the identity of that person. For this, you can disconnect that call and directly call that friend or family member's number yourself. Apart from this, do not send money by scanning any QR code in a hurry, rather after scanning the QR, look carefully at the name of the merchant and only then make the payment. Apart from this, 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.