QR (Quick Response) is a scan-and-pay option which is used by shoppers for payment of bills. Even small vendors provide this payment option to their customers. The usage of a QR code saves the users from entering beneficiary account details and provides faster settlement of transactions. For ease and convenience of users, all banking and E-wallet apps provide QR code reading software. Upon scan of the QR code, the user enters the amount, authenticates payment by inputting the password, and the amount is transferred to the account of beneficiary. The users can generate a QR code and send it to another party (payer) to scan and pay the amount mentioned therein.
About QR Code frauds
- While QR is used for scanning and payment purposes, we come across incidents whereby fraudster mislead people into believing it is deposit confirmation. A few examples are:
- Fraudsters reach out to the sellers of goods on platforms like OLX. They pretend as dealers of second-hand goods and convince the seller to finalize the deal even without inspection of the goods. To create confidence, the fraudster initially transfers a small token amount to the account of the seller and keep him engaged in conversation. For the remaining payment, they send a QR Code to the seller and convince them that it is payment confirmation for the money deposited in the seller’s account. Whereas QR is meant for collecting money and the seller could end up in losing money from his account if he enters PW to authenticate it.
- Fraudster share QR Code through WhatsApp with people, asking the code to be scanned to get money in their account. Innocent people think that this would credit money to their account but what happens is actually the opposite, scenarios like this make people victims of Cyber-crime.
- Fraudsters pose as sellers on sites like OLX, Quikr, and social media channels by posing as Army Officials, BSF, CISF, or impersonating any brand name. Then they ask buyers to pay in advance using the collect request or make a payment on the given QR code. Buyer unaware of the intentions of the seller makes the mistake of approving such collect requests.
- Fraudsters create fake websites and offer lucrative deals that attract the buyers and accept payments through QR code
How to safeguard from QR code fraud?
- For receiving money in your account, no PIN is required. Fraudsters try to confuse the user by sending a QR code.
- Scan only those QR codes that are fully trustworthy and you know where it originated from.
- Never approve collect requests from unknown beneficiaries.
- Never scan a random code just out of curiosity to know what is there inside.
- Avoid using Public QR codes as cyber criminals may swap them by replacing their own QR codes with genuine ones to make money flow into their account.
- If you scan a code and find yourself on a web page that asks for personal information such as name, login credentials, address, etc., don’t key in the information.
If somebody asks you to scan the QR code to receive money, it is a fraud call. Do not believe.
Stay vigilant, Stay safe!
5 Ways Users Can Protect Themselves From Online Fraud
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), complaints under several cyber crime categories have increased considerably. UPI fraud cases have risen from 50,812 in Q4 2021 to 1,13,137 in Q1 2022. Similarly, Internet banking fraud complaints rose by 14% from 13,791 in Q4 of 2021 to 34,229 in Q1 of 2022.
As digital payment spreads its wings in interior areas and more and more citizens start using it, cases of online frauds in India are further going to increase. There are many reasons India is seeing an increase in the cases of online fraud.
In this article, we will talk about what online fraud is, how to file a complaint for online fraud, different types of online scams and frauds, and how individuals can safeguard themselves from falling prey to online fraud.
What is Online Fraud?
Simply put, online fraud refers to any fraudulent activity done over the internet. It can include identity theft, phishing attacks, etc. However, here we are specifically talking about online fraud or scam that is directly related to monetary loss.
Here is what online fraud means from the angle of money:
Online fraud is a cybercrime, which involves a criminal or a group of cyber thieves deceiving their victim by using an array of tricks with the intention of robbing money from them. It involves unauthorised acquisition, manipulation, or misuse of financial information or assets for personal monetary gain.
According to the MHA report cited above, out of total cyber crimes reported, 66% belonged to online financial fraud.
How Online Frauds are Conducted
Online scamsters use a lot of different ways to trick people into giving up their card and other personal details, which leads to unauthorised money transfer. It must be noted that scamsters target individuals to steal their money.
Irrespective of your socio-economic status, users working in the police force, administrative officials, corporate professionals, blue-collar employees, and a farmer in the remotest village in India, anyone and everyone can become a victim.
To understand the ways online scams and frauds work, here are a few ways how online frauds in India are carried out:
- Fraud using UPI
Since UPI has become one of the largest online payment methods in India, a large number of cyber criminals are using UPI to deceive and scam people into transferring money.
A very common trick that scamsters use is to pose as a buyer of second-hand products on online marketplaces that facilitate selling and buying of used products.
Suppose you want to sell your TV on one of the online marketplaces that facilitate this. You post the picture of the TV, its price, condition, and other relevant information and hope someone would like to buy it.
Scamsters are always on a lookout for such posts. One of them will reach out to you and say that they are willing to purchase it.
They will ask for your UPI ID where they can transfer the money. Then instead of sending you the money on your UPI ID, they will send you a UPI request to accept money. Very often these UPI requests come with a message that might read something like: “Click Accept to receive Rs 11,000.” However, this is simply a message typed by the scamster.
Unless you read it carefully, you will think that the request is for you to accept the money.
One of the most common ways scamsters make sure you don’t read the fine line is by calling you immediately after sending the link. Under the pretext of helping you how to accept money, they will rush you to simply click on the accept button and enter your UPI PIN.
One of the biggest indicators of such a scam is that the person who will show interest to purchase the TV, will not negotiate the price and agree to pay the amount you have posted online.