Reports of QR code scams have been increasing steadily, especially during the last 2 years. To save yourself from falling victim to online frauds, here is what you should do.
With more and more people becoming dependent on the e-payment methods and online transactions, cases of online frauds have increased. Scammers have found ingenious ways to trap users and trick them to share their banking details. Recently, there were several cases reported of QR code scam where people have been tricked into scanning a QR code to receive a money, but they didn’t receive anything and in fact, funds were deducted from their account. Scammers use perfectly good platforms like OLX to defraud people with QR code scam. In fact, OLX itself has warned users against these scams. Know how it works and how you can save yourself from becoming a victim of online frauds.
How scammers use the QR code to steal money?
Online scammers send a QR code and ask people to scan it in order to receive money from some scheme they are running. However, once you scan the QR code, instead of the amount being credited, it will get deducted from your bank account. In fact, fraudsters can even get access to your bank account and steal your money through multiple transactions. Online scams via QR codes are one of the most common ways to steal money. So, whenever someone sends you a QR code on WhatsApp or any other platform and asks you to scan it in order to receive money, you must not get greedy, and never scan it.
How to stay safe from online frauds?
1. Never share your UPI ID or bank account details with unknown people.
2. Never scan any QR code received from strangers.
3. Never share OTPs with anyone as they are confidential and used to authenticate your login details.
4. Whenever you make online transactions or send or receive money from an unknown source/people, do check if the user is genuine. If you’re selling something on OLX, look for buyers’ date of joining the platform, profile photo, name, phone number and more. If someone reported the account previously, OLX will show that.
5. If you use UPI, ensure to secure it with a code. All UPI payment methods including BHIM, GooglePay and PhonePe allow users to set a security pin so that every time they open the app, the app will ask for the code first.
6. Try to deal in cash if possible with people you don’t know. Although cashless transactions are always the best, provided you take suitable precautions.
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