FASTag Recharge Link Scam through an app

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

A fake app can be installed from a link, from a file sent on chat or even from a lookalike listing. Once on your phone it can ask for powerful permissions. FASTag Recharge Link Scam is one of the ways this shows up: A message says your FASTag balance is low or blocked and gives a link to recharge. The page steals card details or collects a payment.

What fastag recharge link scam looks like through an app

• An app outside the official store that asks for many permissions.
• A screen-sharing or remote-control app that a caller asks you to install.
• A loan app that asks for contacts and photos.

The scammer sends a mass message that mentions FASTag, a low balance or a blacklist warning. They know that many drivers travel often and rely on the tag, so a warning about a toll plaza creates real worry. The message has a short link and sometimes a phone number to call for 'quick help', which is placed where it looks official.

Red flags to check on the app

• A FASTag warning arrives with a link and a short deadline.
• The page asks for card details and an OTP to recharge.
• A phone number in the message is offered for quick help.
• A penalty or blacklist is mentioned to make you hurry.
• It asks for accessibility, screen overlay, SMS or contacts without a clear reason.
• You were told to install it by a stranger or a caller.

What to do

1. Do not tap the link or call the number in the message.
2. Check your balance in the app of your tag issuer or your bank's own app.
3. Recharge only through the official app or website you type yourself.
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. Call 1930 right away with the payment details.
2. Tell your bank through the number on your card and ask to block the card used.
3. Report at https://cybercrime.gov.in with the message and page screenshots.
4. Remove any app installed on the caller's advice and change banking passwords.

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

Safeavio's link check looks at a recharge link before you open it for lookalike domains, shortened links and risky patterns, and the scam check shows why a low-balance message looks like urgency and a money demand. It cannot check your FASTag balance, so use your tag issuer's official app or the number printed on your tag documents. It also cannot check your tag.

Full guide: FASTag Recharge Link Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: SMS, WhatsApp, phone call.

Questions