Request Money Fraud: What it is & How you can stay Safe
Most of us are aware that we must never share our bank account, card or OTP details with an unknown caller. But did you know that fraudsters can scam you even without these details? The request money fraud has been on the rise, and you can become a victim even if the fraudster just knows your phone number.
What is collect-call/request money?
The ‘Request’ feature on the PhonePe app allows a person to send you a payment request where the amount is filled in by the requester.
Once someone has sent in a request, a pop-up opens up on your PhonePe app.
You can pay by just clicking on the ‘Pay’ button and entering the UPI PIN.
You can also ‘Decline’ the request, in which case the request stands invalid. Before declining, you can block the requester as well — this will prevent all future payment requests being raised to you by that person.
Here’s how Request Money frauds work:
- Fraudsters responding to your sale listings on Quikr, OLX and other sites
You post a product listing on OLX, Quikr or a similar site. The fraudster spots your listing and gives you a call saying that are interested in buying the product. They also tell you that they’re unavailable to pay in-person and would like to make a money transfer using the PhonePe app. They might build on their credentials by telling you that they work for the Army, the Police, the Government etc.
The fraudster will then ask you to open your PhonePe app while you are on the call, and send you a collect-call request for the same amount as your listing. A lot of times the fraudsters use the PhonePe logo as their profile picture, which you can see in the collect call request. They also put a message right above the ‘Pay’ button with instructions like ‘Once you pay, you will receive money.’
This is a fraudulent message. You never need to click on the ‘Pay’ button or enter your UPI pin to receive money on PhonePe.
A few examples of such fraudulent messages are “Payment successful receive Rs. xxx”, “You received money”, “To receive click here for bank transfer”, and so on.
2. Fraudsters pretending to be representatives of companies like Flipkart, Myntra etc.
In such scenarios, the fraudster will usually call and congratulate you stating that you have won money and they need to transfer it to Flipkart, PhonePe or any third party wallet. They may even tell you that you can purchase anything while on the call and they will enable this purchase for you.
This is what a fraudulent collect call looks like in this scenario:
Please remember, no company or merchant will send you a collect-call request to transfer money or make a purchase on your behalf.
3. Fraudsters pretending to be PhonePe customer support representatives
In such scenarios fraudsters circulate fake helpline numbers on Twitter, claiming to solve problems related to money transfers, cashback, KYC etc. on the app.
In such cases, if you call the fraudulent numbers complaining about a pending transaction or a cashback issue, they will send a collect call request using a PhonePe profile picture. This request will be of the same amount as your failed transaction, and the fraudsters will ask you to click on ‘Pay’ and enter your UPI pin.
Please note, PhonePe never publishes any helpline numbers on Twitter. We only post these details from @PhonePeSupport, which is the only verified PhonePe helpline account on Twitter.
4. Fraudsters pretending to buy gold on your behalf
In these cases, the fraudsters use your UPI ID to buy gold on PhonePe. When this happens, you get a payment request with a message stating that you can pay some amount and get gold in your locker. This is what a fraudulent collect-call looks like in this scenario:
Please remember, no one can buy gold on your behalf and send it to your locker using PhonePe. You can only buy gold using your own account.
Here’s what you need to remember to stay safe:
- You never have to ‘Pay’ or enter your UPI pin to receive money on PhonePe. A genuine sender only requires your phone number to send you money.
- In case you have been sent a fraudulent collect-call request, decline it and contact PhonePe support on the app.
- PhonePe never asks for confidential details. If you are asked for such details by anyone posing as a PhonePe representative, please ask them to send you an email. Only respond to emails from the @phonepe.com domain.
- Do not search for PhonePe customer support numbers on Google, Twitter, FB etc. The ONLY official way to reach PhonePe customer support is support.phonepe.com
- Never call/respond to unverified mobile numbers claiming to be PhonePe Support.
- Connect with us only on our official accounts across various social media platforms.
● Twitter handles: https://twitter.com/PhonePe
https://twitter.com/PhonePeSupport
● Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialPhonePe/
In case your card or account details get compromised:
- Report to support.phonepe.com
- Approach your nearest cyber-cell and file a police complaint
