Credit Card Reward Points APK Scam through an app

How it looks through an app, the red flags and what to do.

Scam apps pretend to be a bank, a loan service, a game, a government service or a "support tool", and they ask for access to SMS, contacts, the screen or accessibility. Credit Card Reward Points APK Scam is one of the ways this shows up: A message says your credit card reward points will expire today and links to an app. The app reads your SMS and steals OTPs from your phone.

What credit card reward points apk scam looks like through an app

• A loan app that asks for contacts and photos.
• A "KYC", "challan" or "bank rewards" app from a link.
• An .apk file sent on WhatsApp or by SMS.

The scammer sends a message in the name of a bank with a points amount, such as 9,850 reward points worth Rs 9,850, and a deadline of the same day. The message includes a link ending in a file for installation. Because you may really have points, the text feels close to a real reminder, and the amount is large enough to make you tap quickly.

Red flags to check on the app

• Reward points are said to expire today.
• You are told to install an app from a link.
• The phone warns about installing from an unknown source.
• The app asks to read your SMS and calls.
• It asks you to turn off Play Protect.
• The app does not come from the official store listing of the company.

What to do

1. Do not install the app and do not tap the link.
2. Check your points inside your bank's official app downloaded from a store.
3. Never allow SMS access to an app you do not trust.
4. Run a phone scan (Safeavio Sentinel lists risky apps and settings).
5. Call your bank, and call 1930 if money moved.
6. Do not install it. If it is installed, uninstall it now (Settings, Apps).

Report the fake app to the store it came from and, if money moved, call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in.

If money or a code is already gone

1. Uninstall the app, restart the phone and change banking passwords from a safe device.
2. Call your bank on the number on your card and block the card.
3. Call 1930 and give the transaction details and time.
4. Report at https://cybercrime.gov.in with the message and app name.

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

Safeavio's phone scan reviews installed apps and permissions and points out apps outside a store, apps that look like copies of other apps and risky settings such as unknown sources, which can help you find an app like this. The link check and scam check can review the message first. Safeavio does not remove malware by itself, so follow the steps it shows.

Full guide: Credit Card Reward Points APK Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: SMS, WhatsApp, email.

Questions