Paytm KYC in Jaipur: New method of online fraud; 30 people defrauded of Rs 20 lakh

Jaipur: IAS officer Sanwar Mal Verma is the latest victim of a new method of online fraud in Jaipur. The IAS officer was defrauded of Rs 2.45 lakh after responding to an SMS he received from cyber criminals about Paytm KYC update. Not only Sanwarmal, but as many 30 people have approached the police in the past 7 days, saying that they were conned by fraudsters in the name of KYC update. The matter has become so serious that Rajasthan SOG has issued an advisory asking people to be cautious about KYC updates for payment gateways such as Paytm and PhonePe.

A police officer said that once Rs 2.45 lakh was deducted from the account of the IAS officer, he immediately contacted the police. The police informed the Paytm about this following which the payment was reverted. However, by that time the cyber criminals had withdrawn Rs 25,000 from his account.

“The fraudsters send a message that the KYC has expired and if the customer didn’t update it, the Paytm account would be suspended. The user contacts the number in the message for the KYC update. The user is asked to download an app that gives the criminals access to his or her cell phone and that’s when the user is defrauded by the cyber criminals,” said a senior police officer.

He added that the KYC update happens only at the registered shops. It can’t be done online.

“One should immediately contact the Paytm customer care number and register a complaint if he or she has been defrauded,” said the officer.