OLX Buyer Sends a QR Code to Receive Payment through a QR code

How it looks through a QR code, the red flags and what to do.

With a QR code the scammer does not need your details: the code itself can start a payment or take you to a lookalike page. OLX Buyer Sends a QR Code to Receive Payment is one of the ways this shows up: A buyer on OLX or Facebook Marketplace says 'scan this QR to get paid' and your account is debited instead. Learn why you never scan to receive.

What olx buyer sends a qr code to receive payment looks like through a QR code

• A code that downloads an app.
• A sticker pasted over a shop or parking QR code.
• A QR code sent on WhatsApp "to receive money".

The scammer searches listings and picks items priced reasonably. He messages straight away and moves the chat to WhatsApp, where he is harder to trace. He agrees to the price without any haggling, which feels like a lucky sale, and says he will arrange a pick-up person after payment. He claims to have an urgent posting or business trip.

Red flags to check on the QR code

• The buyer accepts your price instantly and never asks about the condition of the item.
• You are told to scan a QR code or enter a UPI PIN in order to receive money.
• The chat is moved off the marketplace to WhatsApp within a few messages.
• The buyer says he cannot visit and will send a courier or 'army' person later.
• The link opens an app download instead of a payment page.
• The amount is filled in and you did not expect to pay.

What to do

1. Stop at once and do not enter your UPI PIN for any 'receive' request.
2. Read your bank SMS carefully: 'debited' means money left, 'credited' means money came in.
3. Share your UPI ID or account number for receiving, never a QR code you have been sent.
4. If you paid the wrong place, call 1930 at once and tell your bank.
5. Do not scan codes sent by strangers. Receiving money never needs a scan or a PIN.
6. Before paying, read the payee name and the amount on the payment screen.

If you lost money through a QR code, call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in; tell the bank the transaction details.

If money or a code is already gone

1. Call 1930 immediately and report at cybercrime.gov.in with the UPI transaction ID.
2. Tell your bank through its official app or the number on your card.
3. Block the buyer and save the chat and QR image before you do.
4. Do not scan any further codes, even if the buyer says it will 'reverse' the payment.

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

Use QR check in Safeavio Sentinel to scan a QR code and see where it leads before you pay or open anything. It helps you notice that a code which should receive money is really asking you to pay. Money Shield explains in plain words that you never need a PIN to receive money. Safeavio cannot stop you from entering a PIN or recover a payment that has left your account.

Full guide: OLX Buyer Sends a QR Code to Receive Payment: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: WhatsApp, fake app.

Questions