Beware of QR code frauds! SBI warns customers amid rise in online payments

As online payment becomes the new normal due to the COVID-19 crisis, so have cyber frauds using QR codes. To avoid such frauds, India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has warned its customers against scanning QR codes unless the objective is to make a payment. The public-sector bank made it clear that QR codes are not meant to receive money and urged users to stay alert.

The SBI tweeted, "You don't receive money when you scan a QR code. All you get is a message that your bank account is debited for an 'X' amount. Do not scan #QRCodes shared by anyone unless the objective is to pay. Stay alert, #StaySafe. #QRCodes #InternetBanking."

Also read: Banks asked to enhance safety norms amid novel ATM frauds

The tweet by SBI also consists of a link to a YouTube video, which begins with a person named Ramesh who wants to sell his dining table through a second selling application. He uploads a few pictures of the dining table on the application and pegs its price at Rs 16,000.

This is followed by a buyer (Arvind) contacting Ramesh, who wants to buy the dining table but wants to bargain a bit. After this, Arvind agrees to buy the dining table at Rs 15,000 and transfers the token amount to Ramesh's account to verify the authenticity.

Arvind then sends Ramesh a QR code and asks the latter to accept the 'collect' request on his app to receive the remaining amount. Since Ramesh is well-versed about online payments, he does not scan the QR code. Towards the end, it is explained that scanning any QR codes to accept payments will only lead to deduction of money from your account.

Edited by Mehak Agarwal

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