Paying very frequently via UPI? Beware of cons!

Payments via united payment interface (UPI) are set to touch a staggering 1 billion transactions per day, making up to 90% of the country’s retail payments, over the next three to four years, noted a recent PwC report. During 2022-23, UPI made up 75% of India’s retail transaction volume.

Credit card payments, the second most popular payment option after UPI, are also expected to outdo debit cards as early as 2024-25. That is because the report estimates the CAGR of credit card issuance is set to grow at 21% over the next five years.

However, during the same time, the debit card growth is reckoned to remain still at a CAGR of 3%. Even today, revenue via credit cards account for about 76% of the entire card business, which includes both debit and credit)

However, mirroring the meteoric rise of UPI payments in India are the cons and frauds around it. A recent data release by Delhi police highlighted that such cases doubled between 2021 (5,577 cases) and 2022 (11,717 cases). Nationwide, India clocked in more than 95,000 cases of UPI fraud during 2022-23. The average ticket-size of such frauds is usually between Rs 10,000- 1,00,000.

How to save yourself from a fraud

Samriddhi (name changed), a Delhi-based IT professional, learnt her lesson about being careful about such frauds the hard way. An imposter used her best friend’s picture and frantically claimed a medical emergency. By the time she realised, she was swindled of  of Rs 20,000.

A similar case happened with Shivesh Bahel (name changed). He got a distress call from his sister-in-law, asking him to urgently send her funds. He only checked the number’s profile picture and transferred the money. Only when that number demanded to transfer another Rs 17,000, did he call his sister-in-law and cross-checked, only to verify that he had been robbed.

One of the most common features that underpins these frauds is the serious urgency and agitation with which these guys ask for funds, leaving you with no time to think rationally and cross-check on the person’s identity.

While you should exercise utmost caution while making any payment online, here are a few tips you should absolutely swear by:

Receiving money via UPI does not require any PIN. If anyone asks you to share your 4-digit pin with them, refrain.

Change your UPI PINs every six months.

Do not download any unauthorised, third-party applications. Fraudulent and fake customer care executives might use this in the pretext of customer support to actually remotely monitor your screen and get hold of your passcodes.

In the event of being defrauded, immediately lodge a complaint with all necessary and evidential screenshots at the cyber crime portal. Also, register an FIR at your nearest police station.

Lastly, do not transact on publicly accessible wifi networks, since you risk leaking your information.

Never open links on email or messages that you receive from unknown people. They can be lucrative, but detrimental to your finances.