Link your UPI app to a separate bank account or wallet that has only a limited sum.
Cyber intelligence firm CloudSEK reports that online fraudsters are using a new toolkit called 'Digital Lutera' to bypass security features of UPI apps and carry out fraudulent financial transactions.
In FY24 alone, 1.34 million fraud cases were reported, amounting to losses of Rs 1,087 crore.
Customers will qualify for compensation even if they mistakenly share the OTP.
Police in Himachal Pradesh have arrested five individuals for allegedly assaulting a man and forcing him to transfer money via UPI.
Delhi Police have arrested 11 individuals involved in a cyber fraud racket operating from Delhi and Mumbai, which allegedly defrauded a senior citizen of over Rs 22 lakh with promises of high investment returns. The network is linked to international operators in Cambodia.
The amount involved in banking system frauds surged to Rs 21,515 crore in the first half of FY26, up 30 per cent from the same period last year, even as the number of frauds fell 2.8 times to 5,092.
Kerala Police have issued a warning about a new cyber fraud where scammers are using the image of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in fake social media advertisements to trick people into making online payments through PhonePe.
The new UPI IDs will follow formats such as abc.bkr@validhdfc or xyz.mf@validhdfc. For easier recognition, they will also carry a white 'thumbs up' icon inside a green triangle.
Fraud reported by banks declined in 2024-2025 to 23,953 as compared to 36,060 in the previous year though the amount involved jumped to Rs 36,014 crore from Rs 12,230 crore.
It will enable real-time intel sharing among banks and other financial sector participants to strengthen customer protection against digital fraud.
Sebi Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey announced intensified surveillance and technology-driven enforcement to combat pre-investment scams targeting retail investors, who are increasingly being lured by fake trading apps and promises of high returns.
The CBI has filed a chargesheet against 17 people, including four Chinese nationals, and 58 companies for their alleged roles in a transnational cyber fraud network that siphoned off over Rs 1,000 crore.
UPI has catapulted India into the forefront on the global digital payments landscape. Working hand in hand, the AePS payments system is making life easy for rural folks, notes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm may deliberately delay transactions, issue fraud alerts, and require an extra layer of user confirmation before processing any transactions that are likely to be classified as fraudulent.
'Just like oral hygiene, cyber hygiene must become a daily habit,' says Beena Vaheed, executive director, Bank of Baroda. 'It is not enough to rely only on banks, companies, or the government. Each of us must play our part.'
A petition has been filed in court alleging irregularities in the handling of belongings seized from former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, who is currently jailed in Uttar Pradesh.
A human trafficking racket spanning multiple states has been busted with the arrest of three persons in connection with the sale of a young girl from Meghalaya and her forced marriage in Rajasthan. Several other young women from the Northeast are believed to have met the same fate.
We propose an expert group be set up to form a national strategy on digital fraud. This group would bring together skills in financial regulation, security economics, cyber defence, and public communications, and an understanding of the Indian financial and security systems. It should lay the foundations of a coordinated approach by the Indian State in fighting digital fraud, suggest Ajay Shah and Nandkumar Saravade.
Investors will be able to authenticate if the entity receiving the payment is a valid entity under the ambit of Sebi.
App-based communication services providers and Indian telcos are at loggerheads over the SIM-binding directions issued by the department of telecom, which are to be complied with by the end of February 2026.
The government on Wednesday withdrew the order mandating pre-installation of cyber security app Sanchar Saathi on smartphones by manufacturers.
The number of digital financial frauds rose more than four times in FY24 year-on-year to comprise 80 per cent of all financial frauds.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asked fintech firms to focus on risk management at a time when criminals are using AI to mimic voices, clone identities and create lifelike videos to manipulate people.
Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Wednesday exhorted the fledgling fintech ecosystem to focus on the underserved sections of the society to deepen financial inclusion. Speaking at the annual Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, Malhotra accepted that serving the "privileged" will be a lucrative business, but urged the smaller companies to focus on the underserved.
Out of all the reported digital payment frauds in India, over half (55 per cent) were United Payments Interface (UPI)-related, a new report released on Tuesday revealed. Another 18 per cent are card related, 12 per cent are related to internet banking and nine per cent are from phishing calls. Most of the UPI-related frauds, however, have a low ticket size.
'Instead of the government and telecom operators solving the mess of their own creation, they're telling us we need to give access to our phones perpetually.'
Avoid donating without checking the receipt proforma showing the political party's ECI registration number and PAN.
A phone number and e-mail are often enough for a fraudster to trick a lender into pulling your report and disbursing a loan.
AI means 'All Inclusive' for India, asserted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday while stressing that India Stack is a beacon of hope for the world, especially for countries in the Global South.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), in a circular dated April 11, 2025, warned investors about rising fraud and manipulation linked to the securities market on social media platforms.
The Reserve Bank on Wednesday announced the increase of the UPI Lite wallet limit to Rs 5,000 and per-transaction limit to Rs 1,000, in order to encourage wider adoption of the popular instant payment system through mobile phones. A limit of Rs 500 per transaction and an overall limit of Rs 2,000 per UPI Lite wallet, is presently applicable, with the facility of auto-replenishment. Unveiling the October bi-monthly monetary policy, Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das also said the per-transaction limit in UPI123Pay will be enhanced to Rs 10,000 from the current Rs 5,000.
Across all sectors, the future of work depends on adaptability.
In today's rapidly evolving digital payment landscape, security concerns remain a top priority for stakeholders across sectors.
'Reinvention is not a hugely difficult task. With technology as available today, you can reinvent yourself pretty quickly.'
The transition to UPI-based ATMs will be gradual, and consumers will not immediately switch to using standalone UPI ATMs overnight.
'A credit line on UPI is going to make banks think about credit fundamentally as they digitise the credit process entirely.'
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches at seven locations across India in connection with a Rs 350 crore crypto ponzi scam. The accused, operating seven modules in different cities, allegedly lured investors with promises of high returns on cryptocurrency investments. The CBI seized digital virtual assets totaling USD 38,414 in cryptocurrency wallets, cash amounting to Rs 34.2 lakh, and digital evidence, including mobile phones, laptops, tablets, hard disks, and memory cards. The agency registered the case under the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.
Fraudsters lure individuals with false promises of recovering bonuses or maturity proceeds from lapsed policies.
'A mule operates someone else's account to transfer illegal money.'
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