UPI Fraud
Also known as: UPI scam, fake collect request, UPI PIN scam
Scams that exploit the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) — fake collect requests, QR sticker swaps, or social-engineered PIN entry — to drain a victim’s bank account in seconds.
UPI fraud is the dominant payment scam category in India. The most common form is a fake collect request: the scammer sends a payment request to your UPI app dressed up as a refund or reward, and entering your PIN authorises the transfer FROM your account to theirs. Other variants include QR sticker swaps on shop counters, OTP harvesting via fake customer-care numbers, and screen-share scams where the victim is talked into installing AnyDesk and entering their UPI PIN while the scammer watches.
UPI itself is secure — the fraud relies entirely on tricking the user. The rule that prevents most UPI fraud: you NEVER need to enter your UPI PIN to RECEIVE money. Entering the PIN always means money is leaving your account. If anyone — “customer support”, a “refund officer”, a “police verification” — asks you to enter your UPI PIN to receive a refund, it is fraud.
If money is lost, call 1930 within minutes. The earlier the report, the higher the chance of the receiving bank freezing the transferred amount before it is withdrawn.