Cyberabad division issues advisory to prevent Paytm KYC frauds

Hyderabad: Cybercriminals in the city have adopted a new modus operandi. Fraudsters are now calling customers who have a Paytm wallet account and stealing money from them under the guise of KYC upgrades.

According to the Cyberabad cyber crime division, the fraudsters call customers and tell them that their accounts will be suspended if they don't update their KYC (know your customer) documents. OLX and Paytm KYC frauds were the most-frequently committed frauds during the lockdown.

Further, customers are also being told that to upgrade they will have to download applications such as Any Desk, Quick Support, and Team Viewer.

Once the customer downloads these applications, the fraudsters are able to access information directly. They can then withdraw any sum of money through fraudulent transactions.

The cybercrime division further said that the MO of these particular fraudsters is initiated by bulk text messages or phone calls and so they should not be trusted.

Sudhakar Meda, a resident of Miyapur, was duped in a similar manner. He received an SMS saying that he had to upgrade his KYC by calling a number or his account would be suspended. Falling prey, Mr. Sudhakar called the said number where fraudsters imitated a Paytm executive and asked him to download the Quick Support App.

He was then instructed to enter his debit and credit card details in the app while making a transaction of Re. 1. The fraudsters then made multiple transactions from his account, amounting to Rs. 2 lakh.

To avoid falling prey to the scam, you can adopt the following techniques: ignore any calls or messages that set a time limit for the upgrades; avoid downloading any third-party applications if asked by any customer care executive; trust that Paytm will never make calls demanding upgrade of documents; read all information provided by Paytm under 'account safety tips'; and report any cyber fraud at the national cyber crime reporting portal for immediate necessary action.