Beware Of Payment Frauds Through Third-party Apps

There are countless articles and stories on fraudsters tricking users into sharing personal details such as bank account numbers, credit/debit card details, UPI PIN or OTP and transferring funds into their own accounts.

Did you know that frauds can even happen if you do not share the personal details mentioned above? Yes, frauds can happen through third-party apps too!

What are these third-party apps and how do Fraudsters use them?

There are hundreds of free screen-sharing apps such as Screenshare, Anydesk, Teamviewer and more. These apps were originally used by engineers to fix issues on a phone from a remote location. These apps allow full access and control to a user’s phone.

Fraudsters use third-party screen-sharing apps to control your phone for malicious purposes!

Remember: PhonePe never asks you to install any third-party apps. DO NOT install apps on somebody’s request. Apps like Anydesk/Teamviewer, etc are misused by fraudsters to control your phone & view your saved card/account details from their own location. Report any suspicious activity on support.phonepe.com

This is how fraud through third-party apps work:

• Fraudsters approach users and pretend to solve a problem they are facing either on the PhonePe app or with a PhonePe transaction.
• They ask users to download screen-sharing apps such as Screenshare, Anydesk, Teamviewer, etc to solve an issue immediately.
• Instead of asking users to share their card, bank details, UPI PIN or OTP, fraudsters ask users to hold their debit/credit card in front of their phone’s camera so that PhonePe’s verification system can scan the card details correctly.
• While users think they are being helped, fraudsters use the opportunity to record the user’s card number, CVV code and send an OTP for transferring funds into their own account through an SMS.
• Remember, screen-sharing apps allow access to your phone. Fraudsters view the OTP received on the user’s phone and use it for transferring funds to their own account.

Stay safe & save your self from payment frauds.

PhonePe never asks for confidential or personal details. If you are asked for such details by anyone posing as a PhonePe representative, please ask them to send you an email. Also, only respond to emails from the @phonepe.com domain.

Do not search for PhonePe customer support numbers on Google, Twitter, FB etc. The ONLY official way to reach PhonePe customer support is support.phonepe.com. Never call/respond to unverified mobile numbers claiming to be PhonePe Support.