Payments

UPI safety: PIN, collect requests, and screen sharing

You type a UPI PIN only in your own app. A collect request is a payment, not a refund.

UPI fraud usually needs one action from you: entering the PIN, or approving a request, while someone is talking you through it. The caller may say they are the bank, a shop, or a friend sending money back.

Rules that keep the money in your account

  • Type the UPI PIN only inside your own UPI app. Never say it, never type it in a chat, and never enter it while another person can see your screen.

  • A collect request takes money out. A refund does not need your PIN. Real money coming back arrives on its own.

  • Read the name and the amount on the screen before the PIN. If the name is a stranger, cancel.

  • Do not install AnyDesk, QuickSupport, or any app that shares your screen because a caller asked you to.

  • A QR code is for paying the name that appears. If a stranger asks you to scan so they can send you money, stop.

If a payment just left

  1. Call 1930 as soon as you can. Have the UPI reference and the amount ready.

  2. Open your UPI app and freeze further payments if the app lets you, or call the bank number on your card.

  3. Save the chat, the number, and the name that received the money. Do not delete them to “clean up.”

  4. Do not send a second payment because someone says it will reverse the first one.

If money has already left your account, call 1930 or report at cybercrime.gov.in. This page is awareness information. It does not file a complaint.

← Back to Safety Blog

Practical steps for safer digital habits.

Clear guides to checking suspicious messages, protecting your accounts, and responding when something goes wrong.

Your experience could help someone spot a scam.

Share what happened and the warning signs you noticed. Leave out passwords, OTPs, account details, and other private information.

Community submissions are not official findings. A report alone does not prove wrongdoing.

Stay informed, not afraid.

Get scam-awareness guides and practical safety tips in your inbox.

Latest News

How each scam works