Paytm has eased our hassles with cash but it has also given rise to money-related fraud. From stealing money to making false claims about payments, these Paytm frauds are gaining new heights and the recent incident is from Hyderabad where con-men have duped merchants of up to Rs 2 lakh.
According to a Deccan Chronicle report, at least three supermarkets and two shopkeepers have fallen prey to a new Paytm scam in the last three months. The scam, that may spread around the country, sees fraudsters use fake Paytm apps to mislead vendors into believing payments have been successful. The apps in question show a payment confirmation screen which is faked but looks real at a glance, and also includes a fake transaction number.
One such popular app is “Prank Paytm” and while the developer disclaims clearly that it is meant to play practical jokes on friends, the app is being used by miscreants as seen in the news reports. It appears to have been removed from the Google Play Store but it is still available on other websites.
From the looks of it, the app appears to be a cheap rip-off which shouldn’t be hard to spot on phones with Full HD displays. However, fraudsters can easily use screens with a lower resolution and win the payee’s trust that they have made the payment. The app simply shares a screenshot of a completed transaction while the amount is editable.
Despite efforts by Google and Apple, such fake apps trickle down into respective app stores. Even though ‘Prank Paytm’ has been removed, there are several fake versions on the Play Store and a new user could easily be fooled. There’s also another app that promises to give you financial rewards in form of Paytm balance for watching ads.
Meanwhile, the Telangana Police recently nabbed a former Paytm employee for conning customers in the name of completing their KYC. After performing KYC, the accused transferred money from users’ accounts to his own with the false promise of cashbacks.
