Refund Scam with a Rs 1 Test Payment Link 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. Refund Scam with a Rs 1 Test Payment Link is one of the ways this shows up: After you cancel an order, a caller says a refund link needs a small test payment first. The link is a payment request that drains your account.

What refund scam with a rs 1 test payment link 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 knows or guesses that you recently dealt with a shopping site, often because he reads leaks or watches public complaints. He phones at the moment your refund is pending. He quotes the amount correctly or nearly so, which makes him seem genuine. He asks whether you want the money in UPI or card, and agrees warmly, as if he had the power to approve it.

Red flags to check on the app

• You must pay something small before getting a refund.
• A link or QR code is sent instead of the refund being credited to your original payment method.
• A caller knows your recent order or cancellation but pushes you to act fast.
• A UPI PIN or card OTP is requested for a refund.
• It has few or odd reviews, or a name with spelling changes.
• It asks you to turn off Play Protect.

What to do

1. Stop the call and check refund status only in the shopping app's orders page.
2. Remember that refunds go back to your original payment method without any PIN.
3. Do not pay any 'test' amount, however small.
4. Do not install it. If it is installed, uninstall it now (Settings, Apps).
5. Open Settings and check Accessibility, Device admin apps and Install unknown apps for anything you do not recognise.
6. Change the passwords of your bank and email from a clean device if the app had access.

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 and report at cybercrime.gov.in immediately.
2. Tell your bank through the official app and ask them to block the card if details were typed.
3. Do not retry the payment even if the caller promises to reverse it.
4. Keep screenshots of the link, payment receipts and call log.

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

Use QR check in Safeavio Sentinel to scan any code the caller sends and see where it leads before paying, and Link check for a link. Scam check can show why the message and wording look like a refund trick. Money Shield reminds you that a PIN is only for paying. Safeavio cannot stop the caller from phoning and cannot reverse a payment made.

Full guide: Refund Scam with a Rs 1 Test Payment Link: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: phone call, WhatsApp, SMS.

Questions