Money and payments
- No one legitimate needs your OTP, PIN or CVV — ever. Sharing one authorises a payment.
- A ‘refund’ that asks you to pay or scan a QR first is a scam. Receiving money never needs a PIN.
- Verify a caller by hanging up and dialling the number on the back of your card — not the number they gave you.
Accounts and devices
- Turn on two-factor authentication for email, banking and social apps.
- Use a different password for your email — it’s the key that resets everything else.
- Install apps only from official stores; deny apps that ask for SMS or accessibility access without reason.
If something feels off
Slow down. Urgency is the scammer’s main tool — ‘act now or your account is blocked’ is a red flag.
Check a suspicious number, link or UPI ID here before you trust it.