Gift Card and Recharge Code Payment Scam by SMS

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

SMS scams lean on short, urgent lines and a shortened link. The message looks official because the sender name (header) is shaped to resemble a real organisation. Gift Card and Recharge Code Payment Scam is one of the ways this shows up: A caller or chat contact asks you to buy gift vouchers and read out the codes, claiming it fixes a problem. The codes are spent within minutes.

What gift card and recharge code payment scam looks like by SMS

• Several near-identical messages arriving together from different senders.
• A sender name that resembles a bank, courier, tax or utility, or an ordinary mobile number.
• A very short message with a deadline such as "today" or "within 24 hours".

The set-up depends on the story. In one version a message arrives from a number using your manager's photo, saying he is in a meeting and needs vouchers for a client. In another a caller poses as a tax or telecom officer and says a penalty can be paid only by vouchers. In a third a seller on a marketplace asks to be paid in recharge codes instead of money.

Red flags to check on the text message

• A government officer or a company says a penalty or fee must be paid with gift vouchers.
• A message from a 'boss' or friend on a new number asks for vouchers urgently.
• You are told not to call or tell anyone.
• Codes must be sent as photos or text rather than redeemed by you.
• It promises a refund, prize or cashback you never asked for.
• It tells you to install an app from a link instead of the official store.

What to do

1. Stop buying vouchers and call the person on a number you already know.
2. Remember that no tax office, bank or telecom company takes payment in gift vouchers.
3. Do not share any voucher code, even partly.
4. Report the sender on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility) and block the number.
5. Delete the message and tell family members who may get the same text.
6. Do not reply, do not tap the link and do not call the number in the message.

You can report suspicious SMS and calls on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility) of the Department of Telecommunications.

If money or a code is already gone

1. Contact the voucher company through its official app or website and report the codes quickly, as unused value might be frozen.
2. Call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in with the codes and the chat.
3. Tell your bank if you paid for the vouchers by card or UPI.
4. Do not buy more vouchers to 'recover' the earlier ones.

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

Paste the chat into Scam check in Safeavio Sentinel to see the reasons it looks risky, such as secrecy and an unusual payment form. Money Shield lets you keep trusted contacts and a family code word, so a message that claims to be a relative or a boss can be tested with a question only the real person knows. Safeavio cannot cancel a voucher or recover money spent.

Full guide: Gift Card and Recharge Code Payment Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: phone call, WhatsApp, email.

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