Beware! Customer Care Number Fraudsters are On Prowl
I never thought this would be such a big menace. There are so many people who want to cheat you. These fraudsters are cheating to those people who had already lost some money in failed UPI Transaction. Pathetic!
Search the google about the customer care number of Tez, BHIM, Paytm, SBI or any other UPI App, you would find numerous fake numbers. Once you call that number, the fraudsters get into the work. The UPI request money feature is their favorite.
How Customer Care Number Fraud Happens
Posting of Fraud Number
The fraudsters have posted their numbers on the internet as the customer care number. The comment section of popular blogs and websites are their favorite destination. However, sometimes they also publish blogs just to circulate their numbers.
The concern of Lost Money
On the other hand, there are some instances of UPI transaction failure. The concerned customer tries to contact the payment app or bank. To get the customer care number the person searches in the Google.
Search For workable Number
The person would find the real number first. But there is a chance that It does not connect. Now that person again hunt for another customer care number. In this search, he may find that fraud number somewhere. It may be in the comment like the following one.
Call To Fake Customer Care Number
Once you call to that number the fraudster poses as the customer care executive. They would always act as the executive if there is a call from the unknown number.
Use of Request Money Feature
The person would promise you to solve the problem but before that, It would ask you the verify yourself. For this verification, the fraudster would ask you to confirm notification by entering the PIN. Even the person would show that he/she is not asking your PIN.
Distract the Customer
But in reality, the fraudsters send a money request through the UPI app. This feature of UPI apps gives the facility to ask money from someone. To make payment to that person, you have to just confirm and enter the PIN. It is very easy to pay through this method. But because of this ease, people don’t heed and enter the PIN immediately.
Besides this the fraudster also keeps you talking so that you don’t pay attention to the notification text. People just want to get back their money and just enter the PIN.
Money Gets Transferred
Once you enter the PIN money gets transferred to fraudsters account and you would not be able to get it back.
Fraudster Tried To Use This Site
The fraudster started to put their number with the comments. They tried various ways to establish that number as the customer care number. Initially, I could not understand that It is a fraud. But, Once there was a complaint about such fraud, I awakened. Thus, I had to go through all the previous comments and delete the comments with the fake numbers.
I have also activated a filter to hold the comments with the numbers. But after that, they used to give the number along with their name. They also tried to use similar looking letters instead of digits so that an automated system could not detect the phone number. For example, fraudsters write ‘I’ instead of ‘1’, or ‘O’ instead of ‘0’.
Ultimately, I have activated the manual approval for the comments. Now, I spent 10-15 minute daily just to filter the comments. I am doing this for last 4-5 months, still, fraudsters try their luck by using different names. Even they pretend to be a distressed customer. There are 10-15 such comments per day. I wonder, such a large number of fraudsters!
What Should You Do?
- It is harmful to my site’s traffic still I suggest you go to the official sites of UPI Apps for the customer care numbers. I have also taken the numbers from their only. Call only to that number what if the number is constantly busy.
- Else, you can use other methods of booking your complaints such as email and support ticket. I have told about these methods in my post about the customer care of Google Pay and Customer care of BHIM. Even Phonepe and Paytm also gives this facility. I myself have a very good experience with the Phonepe Support Ticket.
- Typing UPI PIN is just like opening your vault. So take caution before typing the UPI PIN.
- If an unknown person tries to request money, report that number as spam. The link to ‘report’ is given along with that money request.