UPI AutoPay Mandate Scam 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. UPI AutoPay Mandate Scam is one of the ways this shows up: You approve a request that looks harmless, but it sets up a recurring UPI mandate that lets a scammer pull money again and again.

What upi autopay mandate scam looks like over the phone

• A calm, official voice that already knows your name or the last digits of your card.
• Being told to stay on the line and not to tell your family.
• Instructions to install a screen-sharing app or to press keys on the phone.

The scammer contacts you with a prize, a free trial or a discount. To claim it, you are asked to 'activate' it using a request in your UPI app. The request is called a mandate or autopay request, but the notification text is short and the amount may be low, such as Re 1 or Rs 5, so it does not look risky.

Red flags to check on the phone call

• An 'activation' request arrives for a prize or free offer.
• The request is described as a mandate, autopay or recurring payment.
• The charged amount is tiny but a higher maximum appears in the details.
• The caller wants you to approve while they stay on the line.
• You are told that a case, arrest, block or penalty is coming within minutes.
• You are asked to move money to a "safe account".

What to do

1. Decline the request and read every line before you approve any mandate.
2. Open your UPI app and check the section that lists autopay or mandates.
3. Cancel any mandate you do not recognise.
4. Tell a family member and report the number on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility).
5. Hang up. A real bank or office will not mind that you call them back.
6. Call the bank or office on the number printed on your card, bill or official app, not on a number the caller gave.

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. Cancel the mandate in your UPI app and note the merchant name and ID.
2. Call 1930 and give the transaction details.
3. Tell your bank through the number on your card or passbook to block further pulls.
4. Report at https://cybercrime.gov.in with screenshots of the request.

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

Safeavio's Money Shield checklist reminds you to read the screen before you pay, and the scam check can review a message that promises a free prize or activation and show the pressure signals. It cannot see inside your UPI app or cancel a mandate for you, so check the autopay list there yourself. Review the autopay list yourself and cancel anything you do not know.

Full guide: UPI AutoPay Mandate Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: fake app, SMS, WhatsApp.

Questions