Request Money Fraud- How to stay safe and secure – www.deekpay.com

Request Money Fraud: How to stay safe and secure | With the request money fraud on the rise, it is necessary to understand what Request money flow actually is, how it is useful and how fraudsters can use it to steal your money.What is collect request?Collect request is a feature provided in your Paytm app where you can request someone to pay you a certain amount through UPI. Once the collect request is raised by you, the receiver of the request would go to “My Payment Requests” to approve your request by entering their UPI PIN. Once approved, the amount is credited to your account.Similarly, someone can request money from you. You can pay them by approving their collect request.How is it useful?Suppose, you go out for dinner with your friends and at the end of the meal, you volunteer to pay for everyone and collect other people share later from them. You could then raise collect requests to collect money from your friends. They would be sent an SMS and an app notification and when then click on it, they would see a pop-up with your name, message and amount. Once they approve, you will get paid.Similarly, small merchants like your local grocer, milkman can raise, collect request to collect their dues from the comfort of their home. Collect request makes asking for money simple and convenient.How does request money fraud work?Fraudsters pose as sellers on sites like OLX, Quikr, and Telegram etc:They build their credibility by posing as Army Officials, CISF. Then they ask buyers to pay in advance using the collect request. Buyer unaware of the intentions of the seller makes the mistake of approving such collect requests.Disguising collect requests as receive money request: By using the names and logos of genuine websites and attaching a message like “Approve the request to receive money”, fraudsters dupe people into paying them.What can you do to protect yourself?Always keep in mind that you never have to enter your UPI PIN to receive money from someone. A genuine sender only requires your phone number to send you money.Never approve collect requests from unknown beneficiaries.Do not pay in advance to a seller on sites like OLX, Quikr, etc. Always pay when the goods are delivered to you.For more information, visit https://www.paytmbank.com/faqs#bhimupi