The real scenario
You are selling an old sofa on OLX or Quikr for ₹5,000. A buyer contacts you immediately. They say they love the sofa and want to send the money right now through UPI to lock it in. They tell you: "I am sending a request on your UPI app. Just open it and enter your PIN to receive the money."
You get a notification. It looks official. You tap "Approve", enter your 4-digit PIN, and wait for the credit SMS. Instead, you get a debit SMS. You just sent ₹5,000 to the scammer.
You get a notification. It looks official. You tap "Approve", enter your 4-digit PIN, and wait for the credit SMS. Instead, you get a debit SMS. You just sent ₹5,000 to the scammer.
How does this work?
UPI apps have a perfectly legitimate feature called a "Collect Request." It allows merchants or friends to request money from your account. The scammer sends you one of these collect requests (which deducts money from YOUR account) but social engineers you into believing it's a "payment being deposited into your account."
The trick works because human brains are wired for trust and speed. Both sending and receiving money generate pop-up notifications on your phone. If someone tells you over a phone call "Quickly approve the notification so the money goes through," you might not read the fine print.
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You NEVER need to enter your PIN to receive money.
Your UPI PIN is the key to your safe. You only use it when you are taking money OUT.
🚩 Red flags to watch for
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A buyer on a marketplace (OLX, Facebook) agrees to buy your item without negotiating or seeing it in person, and insists on paying via UPI immediately.
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The person says phrases like: "Approve the request to receive money," "Scan this QR to get your refund," or "Enter your PIN to verify your receiving account."
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The notification on your screen literally says "Pay" or "Send Money", but the attached personal note says "Payment received." (Scammers type the note themselves).
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They stay on the phone with you, rushing you to "click it quickly before the session expires."
✅ How to stay safe
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Understand the absolute rule of UPI: Receiving money is passive. It requires absolutely zero action from your side. If money is sent to you, it just appears in your bank account.
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Read the buttons: Stop and look at the button you are pressing. If it says "Pay," "Approve," or "Send," money is leaving your account.
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Decline immediately: If you are expecting to receive money and you see a collect request pop up, hit "Decline" and block the user. It is a scam attempt.