Coaching and Exam Fee Refund Scam by email

How it looks by email, the red flags and what to do.

Email is slower than SMS, so these scams usually pretend to be a bill, a refund, an account lock or a job offer and ask you to log in or open a file. Coaching and Exam Fee Refund Scam is one of the ways this shows up: A caller offers a refund for coaching or exam fees but needs your UPI PIN or a small test payment first. See how the refund trap works and stay safe.

What coaching and exam fee refund scam looks like by email

• An attachment such as a PDF, ZIP or HTML file you did not expect.
• A generic greeting instead of your name.
• A login page that opens from the email and asks for your password and OTP.

Scammers find students through data leaks, public forums, lead lists sold by agents and posts about results or admissions. They call within days of a real payment and use the correct name of the course or exam. The caller says he is from the finance or support team and mentions a small error in the fee.

Red flags to check on the email

• A refund that needs your UPI PIN, card PIN or OTP.
• A QR code or collect request to 'receive' money.
• The caller contacts you first, not through the official student login.
• Pressure to finish within minutes while on the call.
• It carries a surprise invoice, refund or legal notice.
• The sender address has an extra word or letter.

What to do

1. End the call and do not scan, tap or enter any PIN.
2. Check the course or exam app, or the receipt, for the real payment status.
3. Write to the coaching or exam body using the contact on its official website.
4. Go to the company website by typing it yourself and check your account there.
5. Check the full sender address, not just the display name.
6. Report it as phishing in your email app and delete it.

Use Report phishing in your email app. If money or accounts are affected, call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in.

If money or a code is already gone

1. Call 1930 right away and report at cybercrime.gov.in.
2. Tell your bank through the number on your card and ask it to try to hold the transfer.
3. Block UPI temporarily and change your UPI PIN in the app.
4. Keep screenshots of the call log, QR and transaction details for the police.

National Cyber Crime Helpline: 1930; report at cybercrime.gov.in.

Safeavio's QR check shows where a QR code leads before you scan, and Money Shield reminds you that a refund never needs a PIN. The scam check on a pasted SMS or email lists the urgency and PIN request. Safeavio cannot listen to a call or recover money already sent, so the safest step remains to end the call and check the course app yourself.

Full guide: Coaching and Exam Fee Refund Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: phone call, WhatsApp, SMS.

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