Be Careful When Shopping Online Using Digital Payment Apps

An investment banking analyst from Mumbai has become a target of fraudsters as she lost Rs 87,000 after purchasing three beer through a digital payment platform using Unified Payments Interface.

Reports from media suggest that Radhika Parekh called a contact number which was listed belonging to Star Wine Shop. She found the number through searching for Powai-based alcohol stores via Google.

A store staff then asked her to use Google Pay to pay Rs 420. She was also requested to share her UPI ID. Right after Parekh shared her ID, a Google Pay payment request was sent to her. And once she accepted the request, she lost Rs 29,001 into the hands of fraudsters.

When she contacted the wine shop to ask about the money, the staff apologized and told her that it was a mistake. After the call was disconnected, she lost another Rs 58,000.

The police said that when Parekh went to the alcohol store to ask about the transactions, she was informed by the caller that she had called the incorrect number. The police have filed the case under the cheating sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as Information and Technology (IT) Act.

Back in May, 23-year-old Anil Padam Singh from Sakinaka, Mumbai also lost Rs 1 lakh after he contacted a finance firm to ask about his new mobile phone’s EMIs.

To make the transactions become extra-secure, users now receive app notifications and SMSes from Google Pay informing them that a collect request has been sent to them. Through the notifications and SMSes, users can know that once they approve the request, an amount of money will be deducted from their bank accounts.

With the rise of online payments, knowing how to protect UPI transactions from fraudsters is extremely critical.

For a safe transaction, users need to remember to always contact call centers’ legal and official numbers if there are any issues with the transactions done via bank accounts or an app.

Users also need to set a password for every account on every app which contains their sensitive information.