UPI (Unified Payments Interface) has become an everyday way to pay in India, and that reach is exactly what makes it worth a fraudster's time. Almost every scam below attacks the person rather than the protocol.
1. Fake Payment Screenshot Scam
Fraudsters send doctored screenshots showing a "successful payment" and ask sellers to release goods before actual payment reflects. Always verify in your bank app.
2. Collect Request Fraud
Scammers send a UPI collect request with a message like "Refund of ₹5,000." Accepting a collect request SENDS money — it doesn't receive it. Never accept collect requests from unknown sources.
3. Screen Sharing Scam
Fraudsters posing as customer support ask you to install screen-sharing apps like AnyDesk or TeamViewer, then watch as you enter your UPI PIN. No legitimate bank or company will ever ask you to share your screen.
4. QR Code Manipulation
Scammers share QR codes claiming you'll "receive" money by scanning them. QR codes are for PAYING, not receiving. Never scan a QR code to receive a payment.
5. Fake Banking Apps
Malicious apps mimicking popular bank apps steal your UPI credentials. Always download banking apps only from the official Google Play Store and verify the developer.
What Cyber Rakshak Will Do About This
Coming at launch: you paste or forward a suspicious message and a scanner scores it against the patterns above — collect-request wording, refund and KYC stories, links, and manufactured urgency — then shows you which of them it matched. A separate link check flags lookalike domains, URL shorteners and pages served without HTTPS.
Two things it deliberately does not do. It does not read your inbox: the app does not ask for SMS permission at all, so the only messages it sees are the ones you hand it. And it is not AI — the scoring is a written list of patterns, each with a weight, and nothing about it needs a model to explain.
The mobile app is still in development. Nothing in this section is live yet.
Stay safe, stay vigilant — and never approve a UPI request you did not start yourself.