Refund Scam with a Rs 1 Test Payment Link over the phone

How it looks over the phone, the red flags and what to do.

Callers pretend to be bank staff, police, a courier, a telecom officer or a relative, and they try to keep you on the line while you act. 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 over the phone

• A second "senior officer" who takes over the call.
• An unknown or international number, or a number that looks like a real office.
• A calm, official voice that already knows your name or the last digits of your card.

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 phone call

• 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.
• The caller wants you to install an app to "fix" something.
• The caller asks for an OTP, UPI PIN, card PIN or CVV.

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. Never share an OTP or PIN. No genuine staff member needs it.
5. If you already installed an app on the call, uninstall it and switch on airplane mode, then call your bank at once.
6. Tell a family member and report the number on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility).

Report the number on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility). If money moved, call 1930 immediately.

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: WhatsApp, SMS, fake app.

Questions