Common scams - Stay Safe Online

The 'digital arrest'

What it looks like

A video call from people in uniform, sitting in what looks like a police station. They show you a warrant with your name on it and say your Aadhaar, your SIM or your bank account is part of a drugs or money-laundering case. They tell you to stay on camera and tell nobody, sometimes for days, while you transfer money to 'clear' your name.

How to spot it

There is no such thing as a digital arrest in Indian law. No police officer, no CBI, no ED and no customs officer will ever arrest you over a video call, and none of them will ever ask for money to settle a case. Uniforms, offices and warrants on a screen can all be created on a computer.

What to do

Cut the call. Then tell one other person immediately - being alone and silent is the whole trick. Nothing bad happens because you put the phone down.

The panicked voice on the phone

What it looks like

A call in the voice of your son, daughter, parent or friend. There has been an accident, an arrest, a hospital admission. They are crying or shouting. Money is needed right now, and please do not tell anybody else in the family.

How to spot it

A few seconds of someone's voice from a social media video is enough to copy it. The crying makes the copy harder to judge, which is exactly why they do it. The demand for secrecy is the real signal - a genuine emergency never needs to be hidden from your own family.

What to do

Hang up and call the person back on their own number. Ask the family code word. Ring somebody else who would know. A real emergency easily survives a two-minute check.

The part-time job that pays you first

What it looks like

A WhatsApp or Telegram message offering easy work - rate hotels, like videos, follow pages. Small amounts arrive instantly and genuinely. Then you are moved to a 'VIP' set where each task needs you to put money in first, and the returns are bigger.

How to spot it

The first payments are real. That is what buys your trust. Then one task fails at the last step - 'wrong order', 'system error' - and only a top-up will release your balance. Then another. It never ends, because there was never any balance.

What to do

Stop the moment money has to go in. No real job in the world asks you to pay to do the work - no deposit, no registration fee, no top-up to release your own earnings.

Share market groups and fake trading apps

What it looks like

You are added to a WhatsApp or Telegram group full of happy members and a 'sir' or 'professor' giving tips. There is an app to install that looks like a real broker. Guaranteed IPO allotments, impossible returns, screenshots of other people's profits.

How to spot it

The other members are not real. The app is not a broker. Your balance goes up on screen and small withdrawals are even allowed early on - that is the hook, not proof. Then taking the money out needs tax, then fees, then a compliance deposit.

What to do

Leave the group. Check any broker on the SEBI website before giving anybody a rupee. Nobody who genuinely makes money this way needs strangers from a group chat.

The friend you have never met

What it looks like

A wrong number, a dating app, or a friendly stranger on Instagram. Weeks of real, warm conversation with no mention of money at all. They talk about their work, their family, their day. Only later do they mention the investment that is doing so well for them.

How to spot it

The patience is the strategy. By the time money is mentioned, this person feels like a friend - and they are then introducing you to exactly the same fake platform as the group chats. Nobody who has known you for three weeks online is going to make you rich.

What to do

Never send money or invest through someone you have only met online, no matter how long you have been talking. Ask to video call unexpectedly - they will always have a reason not to.

Instant loan apps

What it looks like

An advertisement promising a loan in five minutes with no documents. The app asks for access to your contacts, your photos and your storage before it will give you anything.

How to spot it

That permission request is the entire business. The interest is enormous and the repayment date arrives sooner than you were told. If you are even a day late, they message everybody in your phone book and threaten to send edited photos of you to them.

What to do

Never give a loan app your contacts or photos. Borrow only from a bank or a company registered with the RBI. If you are already being threatened, do not pay more - report it on cybercrime.gov.in and tell your family before the messages reach them.

The fake customer care number

What it looks like

Something goes wrong - a failed refund, a booking problem, a gas cylinder complaint. You search Google for the helpline number and call the one at the top.

How to spot it

Scammers pay to place fake numbers high in search results, and they run convincing call centres. Very soon the 'agent' asks you to install a screen-sharing app or share a code, to 'process the refund'.

What to do

Never take a customer care number from a search engine. Use the number inside the company's own app, on your bill, or on the back of your card. And nobody legitimate will ever need to see your screen.

'Your KYC has expired' and 'electricity will be cut tonight'

What it looks like

An SMS or WhatsApp message saying your KYC has expired, your account will be frozen, or your electricity will be disconnected at 9pm tonight unless you update immediately. There is a link, or a number to call.

How to spot it

The deadline is the attack. Real notices do not arrive by WhatsApp from a personal number, and they do not give you three hours. Look at who sent it - a normal ten-digit mobile number is never your bank or the electricity board.

What to do

Do not click and do not call that number. Open your bank's own app, or call the number on your electricity bill. If it were real, it will be there too.

The QR code that takes instead of gives

What it looks like

Somebody buying your item on OLX or Facebook Marketplace, or 'refunding' you, sends a QR code to scan or a request to approve. They may say the payment failed and ask you to try again.

How to spot it

Scanning a QR code and entering your PIN always sends money out. There is no such thing as scanning to receive. The same is true for 'collect requests' - approving one pays them.

What to do

To receive money you only ever give your UPI ID or phone number. If anybody asks you to scan, approve or enter a PIN to get paid, stop there.

'Please install this app so I can help you'

What it looks like

A helpful voice on the phone from a bank, a wallet, Amazon, or a government office. To resolve your problem quickly they ask you to install AnyDesk, TeamViewer, QuickSupport or something similar, and read out the number it shows.

How to spot it

That app hands them full control of your phone. They can then see your banking app, read your OTPs, and move money while you watch. There is no situation in which a real organisation needs this.

What to do

Refuse and end the call. If you have already installed one, uninstall it now, turn off the internet, and call your bank on the number from your card. Then call 1930.

The lottery, prize or KBC call

What it looks like

You have won 25 lakh in a lucky draw, or a KBC lottery. To release it, a small processing fee, GST or courier charge is needed first.

How to spot it

You cannot win a competition you never entered. Any prize that needs you to pay first is not a prize.

What to do

Block and report. If they have your name and address, that only means your details were in a leaked list somewhere, which is very common and not a reason to trust them.

The delivery that could not be completed

What it looks like

An SMS or WhatsApp about a parcel that could not be delivered, with a link to reschedule or pay a small fee. Sometimes a call from a 'courier boy' asking for an OTP to confirm delivery.

How to spot it

No courier needs an OTP from you to deliver something. The link goes to a copy of a real website, built to take your card details.

What to do

Check your order inside the shopping app itself. If you did not order anything, ignore it completely.