Act immediately. Don’t spend time reading the entire guide first.
What Happened to You?
If one of these situations looks familiar, pause before doing anything further.
Secure the affected banking/payment access immediately. If money has moved without your approval, report it without delay.
Contact your bank/payment provider immediately. For financial cyber fraud, call 1930 and report the incident through the official cybercrime portal.
You do not need to scan a QR code or enter your UPI PIN to receive money.
Stop the remote access. Be particularly cautious if you were asked to install the app while discussing a payment, refund, KYC or banking problem.
Don’t enter anything further. Independently open your bank’s official app/site or contact the bank through a verified channel.
Don’t trust the caller merely because they know some details about you. Disconnect and verify independently through the bank’s official channel.
You won something you never entered for? That’s a red flag. Be suspicious if you are unexpectedly told that you have won or are entitled to money or some other benefit — particularly if you are asked to pay a fee, tax, processing charge or other amount to receive it.
Don’t make a payment merely because the person sounds authoritative, threatens consequences or claims the matter is urgent. Verify independently.
Unknown person + Payment request + Urgency = STOP 🛑
Pause. Do not pay. Chances are they are trying to scam you.
Do not let urgency, fear, threats, rewards or an attractive offer push you into making a payment.
If you still think the request may be genuine, verify it independently. Speak to a family member or trusted friend, ask your bank, or contact the organisation concerned through contact details you find independently.
Do not use the phone number, link, QR code or contact details supplied by the person asking you to pay.
Red Flags — Stop and Reconsider
Fraud does not always begin with an obvious request for your OTP. Watch for these warning signs during the interaction.
The person does not want to give you time to think, verify or reconsider. You may be told that the offer is available only for a short time, the payment must be made immediately or the opportunity will disappear.
Your card or account will be blocked, KYC will expire, money will be lost, service will stop, a penalty will be charged, or some other harm will occur unless you act now.
“Don’t disconnect”, “don’t call the bank”, “don’t tell anyone” or “there isn’t time” are reasons to stop and verify independently.
An exceptional discount, refund, reward, cashback, lottery or prize, investment return or other attractive benefit is repeatedly used to persuade you to act or pay.
They tell you what to click, what to type, which app to install, which QR code to scan or how to complete the payment.
The claimed organisation contacts you from an unexpected number, the website address looks different, the beneficiary name is unexpected, or the money is going somewhere other than where you expected.
The website looks genuine. The caller knows some details. The amount is small. The offer sounds reasonable. Don’t use these as reasons to ignore a red flag. Stop and verify before you proceed.
No one gives you easy or free money.
If an offer looks too good to be true, consider that it is not true — and take all precautions.
Be especially careful with unexpected lotteries, prizes, awards, extraordinary returns, cashback or other offers of easy money.
If you are asked to pay a fee, tax, processing charge or any other amount first to receive the supposed benefit, stop and verify independently.
An offer of easy money is a reason to increase your caution, not lower it.
Small amount? The same rules apply.
Don’t let your guard down because the amount is small or the stakes seem low.
A small payment can still be a scam. Fraudsters can create convincing websites, advertisements, enquiry forms and payment journeys even for relatively small amounts.
Verify who you are dealing with before paying.
Before You Press Pay — Take Five Seconds
A brief pause before authorising a transaction can be more useful than trying to recover the money afterwards.
Safe Banking Hygiene
Good banking safety is also about reducing your everyday exposure and making it harder for one mistake or one fraudulent interaction to cause a large loss.
Don’t keep very high transaction limits merely because your bank permits them. Set limits according to what you normally need. Lower limits can restrict the possible damage if your card or payment access is compromised.
Don’t use the link or number contained in the message. Open your bank’s official app or website yourself, or contact the bank independently.
A prominent or sponsored search result is not proof that a number belongs to your bank. Prefer contact details from the bank’s official website/app, the back of your card or another verified bank source.
A website appearing near the top of search results is not proof that it is genuine. For important transactions, type the known address yourself, use a trusted bookmark or reach the website through a verified official source.
A fraudulent website can closely resemble the real organisation’s site, including its logo, colours, products and enquiry forms. Check the actual website address and independently verify the site before entering personal details or making a payment.
Apply the same basic checks to a small payment that you would apply to a larger one. Small-value transactions can also be fraudulent.
Better still, don’t write the PIN on the card or keep an identifiable written PIN with it.
Where your bank provides the facility, consider keeping international, online or other card channels disabled when you do not use them and enabling them when required.
If someone is telling you what to click, enter, install or say while you operate your banking or payment app, stop and independently verify what is happening.
Your phone may contain banking apps, SMS messages, email, saved information and other sensitive data.
Be particularly cautious when another person asks you to install such an app while discussing a payment, refund, KYC or banking problem.
Check the displayed beneficiary name, account/UPI details and amount, particularly when making a payment for the first time.
If you receive an alert for a transaction you did not make, investigate and report it immediately rather than leaving it for later.
Do not disclose them even to someone claiming to be calling from your bank or another trusted organisation.
Check the developer or publisher rather than relying only on the app’s name, logo or appearance.
Also be cautious when carrying out sensitive financial activity over public Wi-Fi.
Updates can include important security fixes as well as functional changes.
Protect access to the device that may contain your banking apps, messages and financial information.
Don’t allow an unauthorised or unfamiliar transaction to remain unnoticed for weeks.
Consider limiting the balance exposed to everyday online transactions
If practical for you, consider using an account with a limited working balance for routine UPI payments, online purchases and other everyday digital transactions, while keeping larger savings in an account that is less exposed to day-to-day payment activity.
This will not prevent fraud, but it may reduce the amount immediately exposed if something goes wrong.
Combine this with sensible transaction and card limits.
If Fraud Has Already Happened
Speed matters. Start reporting the fraud and securing the affected banking access immediately.
Report the fraudulent or unauthorised transaction and secure the affected account, card, UPI or digital-banking access as appropriate.
Report the incident as quickly as possible. Don’t postpone reporting while you try to investigate the fraud yourself.
Complete the required reporting process and retain the acknowledgement or complaint details.
Keep transaction IDs/UTRs, amount, date and time, beneficiary details, bank/wallet/merchant details, screenshots, messages, phone numbers, website addresses and other relevant information. Don’t delete useful evidence in a hurry.
If the banking issue remains unresolved, use the bank’s complaint and escalation mechanism and, where applicable, the appropriate further grievance route.
Suspicious number, UPI ID, bank account or website?
I4C’s National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal provides facilities to check certain suspicious identifiers and to report suspect information.
Important: A number, account, UPI ID or website not appearing in a suspect repository should not be treated as proof that it is safe. Continue to verify independently.
Bank complaint still unresolved?
Use the BankBodh Bank Complaint Directory → to find the complaint and escalation route for your bank.
Avoid Costly Banking Mistakes
Not every loss happens because of fraud. A hurried payment, a wrong beneficiary or a simple extra zero can also be costly. Take a few seconds to check before you authorise a transaction.
An extra zero can turn ₹5,000 into ₹50,000. Read the amount on the final confirmation screen instead of relying on what you intended to enter.
When paying someone for the first time, verify the payment details independently. For an important or large transfer, consider making a small test payment first where appropriate.
Once money has been transferred to the wrong account or UPI ID, recovery may not be immediate or guaranteed. Check first rather than depending on recovery later.
A slow response or missing confirmation does not necessarily mean that the first transaction failed. Check the transaction status and your account before retrying, or you may pay twice.
Official Resources
- National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal — report cybercrime and financial cyber fraud.
- Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) — Ministry of Home Affairs cybercrime initiatives and guidance.
- National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) — official information and safety guidance for UPI and payment systems.
- Reserve Bank of India — official banking and customer-awareness information.
Banking rules, contact details and procedures can change. If you notice information on this page that appears outdated or incorrect, please let us know.