To receive money on UPI, you never need to approve anything

This is the most important thing to understand about UPI: when someone legitimately sends you money, it arrives automatically. You do not scan a QR code. You do not approve a request. You do not enter your PIN. The money simply appears in your account.

Any situation where you are asked to "accept a refund" by scanning a QR code or approving a collect request is a scam. Without exception.

Ananya from Mumbai complained to Meesho about a damaged product. She got a call from someone who claimed to be customer care. They sent a UPI collect request for ₹499 — the "refund amount." She entered her PIN to "accept" it. ₹499 was debited from her account, not credited. The caller then sent another request for ₹4,999, claiming the first was a "test transaction." She disconnected the call.

Why this scam works so well

The refund scam exploits a genuine confusion about how UPI works. Many users, especially those newer to digital payments, do not know the difference between a UPI pay request and a UPI collect request. Scammers exploit this gap deliberately.

They typically call at the right moment — when you have an open complaint with an e-commerce platform, or shortly after a delivery. They have just enough information (your order number, your name) to sound convincing. That information is often scraped from data leaks or bought from shady sources.

💸

Entering your UPI PIN always means money leaves your account.

There is no such thing as "entering PIN to receive a refund."

How SatarkScan directly catches this

The refund scam almost always involves a collect request with a pre-filled amount and a VPA containing words like refund, desk, or return. SatarkScan flags collect requests as a signal, adds weight for pre-filled amounts, and specifically checks for support and refund-style VPA patterns. A QR code from this type of scammer will typically score MEDIUM to HIGH risk.

Red flags

🚩
Anyone asking you to scan a QR code or enter your UPI PIN to receive money.
🚩
A "customer care" number that called you — real support teams do not make outbound calls to process refunds.
🚩
A collect request with a note that says "refund," "cashback," or "prize."
🚩
Being told a "test transaction" is needed first before the real refund.
🚩
The caller asks you not to tell your family about the refund "for tax reasons."

What to do

✅
Hang up immediately if anyone asks you to scan a QR or enter your PIN to receive money.
✅
Raise refund disputes only through the official app — Flipkart, Amazon, Meesho, Swiggy. Not through inbound calls.
✅
Scan any QR code related to a "refund" with SatarkScan before doing anything else.
✅
If you have already paid, call your bank's fraud helpline immediately and file a report at cybercrime.gov.in or 1930.