Fraudster Steal Rs 1 Cr From 81 UPI Users In Mumbai

MUMBAI: The use of internet payments in India has greatly expanded as a result of the COVID epidemic. Although the widespread adoption of unified payment interface (UPI) apps for cashless money transfers is still relatively new, con artists have come up with creative ways to swindle customers using well-known mobile payment apps. 

The Central Bank of India reports that in February 2022, the number of daily transactions supported by UPI increased from 24 crore to 36 crore. According to allegations in the media, scammers are now luring victims with a new line of argument called "payment error." These con artists in Mumbai were able to steal Rs 1 crore from 81 people by taking advantage of their naivety. 

According to reports, the UPI scam is a clever mashup of malware phishing and social engineering, making it difficult to defend against. Users of mobile payment applications may not be sufficiently protected against this online fraud by current anti-malware software. 

Using popular UPI services, such as Google Pay, the con artists allegedly transfer money to victims before calling them to say that the transfer was performed inadvertently. The unknown caller then requests that recipients refund the funds to their phone number. However, the con artists hack into their UPI account and withdraw money directly from their bank account when someone sends the money back. 

The victim's smartphone becomes infected with malware if they choose to return the money using the UPI app, giving the con artist access to all of their data, including bank account details and KYC (Know Your Customer) data like PAN and Aadhaar. With this information, the con artist might gain access to the victim's bank account and do more harm. 

Pavan Duggal, a well-known cybercrime expert based in Delhi, claims that this style of operation is an advanced fusion of malware phishing and social engineering. Always be on the lookout for such scams and take the necessary precautions to protect yourself to stay safe. 

The following are some strategies someone might use to avoid falling victim to fraud. Use a reliable UPI app. 

Make a reliable UPI pin. 

Never divulge your UPI PIN. 

Check the payee's information. 

Be careful of telemarketers' calls and communications.

 Set transactional boundaries.

Update your UPI application. 

Track your transactions.

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