If you lose money to a scam, call 1930 at once. The sooner you report, the better the chance of stopping the money.
हिंदी में पढ़ें: यही गाइड हिंदी में: स्कैम से कैसे बचें। पैसे गए हों तो तुरंत 1930 पर कॉल करें।
Most scams follow the same pattern: someone creates fear or greed, rushes you, and asks you to pay, share a code or install something. If you know the pattern, you can stop almost every scam with a few simple rules.
Eight rules that stop most scams
- Never share an OTP, UPI PIN, CVV or password. Not with a bank, police officer, delivery person or "customer care". No genuine office needs them from you.
- You never need a UPI PIN to receive money. Entering your PIN always sends money out.
- Hang up on pressure. "Pay in 10 minutes or you will be arrested" or "your account closes today" is how scammers stop you from thinking.
- No one arrests you on a video call. Police, CBI, customs and courts do not do "digital arrest" or ask for money to settle a case.
- Do not install apps a stranger asks for. Screen-sharing and "support" apps let them see your OTPs and control your phone.
- Do not click links in unexpected messages. Open the official app or type the website yourself.
- Call back on a number you trust, such as the one on your card, passbook or the official website, not the number that called you or one from a search ad.
- Talk to family before you pay. A two-minute call to someone you trust breaks the scammer's spell.
Warning signs
- A prize, lottery, refund or job you did not apply for.
- A caller who knows a little about you and uses it to sound official.
- A request to keep it secret from your family or bank.
- Payment by UPI to a person's name, gift cards or crypto.
- An "officer" who moves the call to WhatsApp or video.
- A message from a relative's new number asking for urgent money.
If you lost money: the first hour
- Call 1930, the National Cyber Crime Helpline, or report at cybercrime.gov.in. Do it at once: the sooner the report, the better the chance the bank can hold the money.
- Call your bank on the number on your card or passbook and ask them to block the card, UPI or account.
- Keep proof: screenshots of messages, the caller's number, transaction IDs and the time.
- Change passwords of email, banking and UPI apps, and remove any app the scammer asked you to install.
- Tell your family, so the scammer cannot try them next.
Report a fraud call or message
You can report suspected fraud calls and SMS on the government's Sanchar Saathi portal (sancharsaathi.gov.in, "Chakshu"), even if you did not lose money. It helps block numbers used by scammers.
How AlertMitra helps
AlertMitra shows official scam warnings for your state, each with a link to its source, so you hear about new tricks early. AlertMitra will never ask for your OTP, PIN or bank details.
AlertMitra is an independent app and is not linked to any government agency. In an emergency, call 112.
Sources
- National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal: cybercrime.gov.in, helpline 1930
- Sanchar Saathi (report fraud calls and SMS): sancharsaathi.gov.in
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