Fraud & scam awareness

The call usually opens with something frightening and specific: a parcel in your name was seized with drugs in it, your Aadhaar was used to open a bank account for money laundering, or a case has been registered in another city. The caller ID may be spoofed to look like a real police number.

The caller then moves you onto a video call. The background is made to look like a police station or CBI office. You may be shown a fake FIR, a fake arrest warrant or a fake Supreme Court letter with your name typed into it. You are told not to hang up, not to tell family, and to stay on camera — that is the 'digital arrest'.

Finally, money is demanded: a 'verification deposit' or 'security amount' that will be 'refunded after your name is cleared'. Once it is transferred, the callers disappear.

No police officer, CBI officer, ED officer, customs official or judge in India will ever question you over a video call, place you under house arrest by phone, or ask you to transfer money to clear your name. Genuine legal process arrives as physical notices and in-person procedure. If money is being asked for over a call, it is a scam — every single time.

What to do: hang up. Do not stay on the line out of politeness or fear. Call the person back on a number you looked up yourself. Tell one family member immediately — isolation is the scam's main tool. If you have already paid, call 1930 straight away.

Banks, the RBI, income tax, EPFO, insurers and telecom companies never ask for your OTP, UPI PIN, ATM PIN, CVV, internet banking password or card expiry — not on a call, not on WhatsApp, not to 'verify' you, not even to 'block a fraudulent transaction'. Their own staff cannot see these values and do not need them.

The common scripts: 'your account will be blocked unless you complete KYC', 'your card is being misused, share the OTP to cancel it', 'your electricity will be cut tonight', 'your pension credit failed, confirm with the OTP'. Urgency plus fear is the pattern, whatever the story.

A second version asks you to install a screen-sharing or 'support' app such as AnyDesk, TeamViewer or QuickSupport so they can 'help'. That gives them a live view of your phone, including OTPs as they arrive. No genuine bank support process needs this.

Remember also that a UPI PIN is only ever needed to send money, never to receive it. If someone says you must enter your PIN to get a refund, cashback, prize or pension arrear, they are taking money, not giving it.

Safe habit: end the call, then reach the bank yourself using the number printed on your passbook, card or the bank's official app. Never a number the caller gave you and never a number from a search-engine advertisement.

A UPI 'collect request' is a request for you to pay someone. When it lands in your app it can look like an incoming payment, and it often carries a friendly note such as 'refund ₹4,999' or 'cashback credit'. Approving it and entering your PIN sends your money away.

Common setups: a fake customer-care number found through a search result, an order you never placed that offers a 'cancellation refund', an insurance 'maturity payout' that needs a small processing fee first, or a buyer on OLX or Facebook Marketplace who insists on 'sending' you an advance through a collect request or a QR code.

Scanning a QR code also always sends money — it never receives it. If someone asks you to scan a code to receive a payment, stop.

Rule to hold on to: money coming in never needs your approval, your PIN or a scan. If your app asks for a PIN, money is going out. Read the amount and the payee name on the confirmation screen before you touch anything.

If you receive a collect request you did not expect, decline it and, in most apps, block that ID. Do not call any number mentioned inside the request.

1. Call 1930 immediately. This is the national cyber crime helpline and it can start the process of freezing the receiving account.

2. File the complaint online at cybercrime.gov.in as well. Keep the acknowledgement number safe.

3. Call your bank's official number and report unauthorised transaction. Ask them to block the card, the UPI ID or internet banking as relevant, and note the complaint reference. Under RBI's customer protection rules, reporting an unauthorised electronic transaction quickly limits your liability — delay increases it.

4. Take screenshots of everything before deleting anything: the SMS, the UPI reference number, the caller's number, the WhatsApp chat, the payment confirmation.

5. Uninstall any app the caller asked you to install, then restart the phone. Change your internet banking password and your UPI PIN from a device you trust.

6. Tell one family member and put it in writing to your bank as well as by phone. Follow up in writing again if you do not get a response in three days; if the bank does not resolve it in 30 days, you can escalate to the RBI Ombudsman.

7. Do not send more money to anyone who offers to 'recover' the lost amount. Recovery scams target people who have already been defrauded.