The UPI (Unified Payment Interface) payment system has significantly changed how online payments are made in India. The UPI system allows banking customers to transfer money instantly across bank accounts for all kinds of transactions, including online shopping and airline reservations, as well as grocery and vegetable purchases from roadside vendors.
UPI daily transactions have increased from 24 crores a day in February 2022 to 36 crores a day. This is according to a Reserve Bank of India report. There is no doubt that online payments have grown in popularity, but they have also become a crucial hub for committing internet fraud as a result of the same.
There has been a significant rise in online payment activity in India since the pandemic. A newly implemented implementation of unified payment interface (UPI) applications has been implemented in the country to facilitate cashless money transfers. This shift is not widespread yet.
Nevertheless, people are kept in the dark about such apps, and scammers have developed creative ways to swindle them.
A widespread UPI fraud case has surfaced. Online con artists exploit "payment mistake" strategies to defraud victims and steal funds from their bank accounts connected to UPI. According to reports, 81 Mumbai residents have been cheated out of Rs 1 crore by a viral UPI scam that has spread across the country.
As soon as the fraudster sends money to the victim's account through the UPI app, they claim that the transaction was a mistake, then return the money to them. Once the victim has been contacted, the caller asks for payment to continue the call. There is a possibility, however, that the fraudster could gain access to all the user's personal information if the user funds back via one of these UPI apps. Bank account details, and KYC information, such as PAN and AADHAR number, are among the information included in this. As a result, the con artist can then hack into the victim's bank account and do more damage to the victim based on the information in this file.
An experienced cybercrime expert in Delhi, Pavan Duggal, argues that this approach combines malware phishing with social engineering to create a sophisticated blend of cybercrime attacks. Adding to the difficulty of this, he explained that it is a combination of malware phishing with human engineering that is making users of mobile payment applications vulnerable to online fraud. Therefore, current anti-malware programs may not be sufficient in protecting users. In response to such calls, he advises users to inform the con artist that they have notified their bank about the issue.
As a result of scammers using applications that utilize UPIs to send money, such as Google Pay, the average individual is scammed. According to the FIR and victim statements, they then call them to claim that they made an error in transferring the funds to the account. A mystery caller calls a particular individual using the phone number that has been provided to ask them to return the money to them by using the same number. The con artists take money from a person's bank account as soon as they are sent money back in case they are sending money back in the form of UPI.
Mr. Douggal advises users to say to the caller that he or she should pick up the cash at the nearest police station. The repayment should not be made through the app itself. It is also important to not take a screenshot of the payment being sent to a stranger as this establishes a personal connection with the person and will also allow access to their sensitive information.
In case the victim pays back the money using an app called UPI on the victim's smartphone, the malware will infect the smartphone infected. Con artists can access all of their confidential data, including bank account details and KYC (Know Your Customer) information, including PANs and AADHAARs.
When the con artist has this information, anyone can access the victim's bank account to continue harming anyone.
As a security precaution, you must look for possible frauds and take appropriate steps to safeguard yourself against them. You can ensure your online transactions are safe and secure by knowing what to look out for and taking the necessary precautions.