Paytm, Google Pay, PhonePe UPI transactions are putting your security at risk

A year ago, when 18-year-old Diksha from Bengaluru uploaded a tweet displaying her GPay scanner and UPI ID, she never imagined it would result in her being harassed by a 44-year-old ‘married man’.

In a tweet thread, which is now going viral and has garnered over 2.7 million views so far, Deeksha explained how this man allegedly got her number through her UPI ID and started sending her money, which later turned into text messages, and then nude pictures of her.

In her tweet, Diksha said that he is a ‘married man’ and ‘every time she blocks him, he creates a new account.’

However, like Diksha, since the introduction of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in 2016, our reliance on digital payments has increased significantly.

This dependency has reached such an extent that we feel confident to step out of the house with just Rs 11 in our pocket. Sometimes, we have nothing at all.

However, there are some risks associated with this convenience.

Increase in UPI transactions

We Indians carry out 184,58,333 (1,84,58,333) UPI transactions every hour. In a day, this equates to around 44.3 crore transactions across the country. This is a 50 percent increase over last year.

If you don’t know, UPI (Made in India) is a digital payment system that connects multiple bank accounts into a single mobile app, allowing users to make merchant payments, fund transfers, and peer-to-peer transactions.

It has become India’s fastest growing payment system and has also been implemented in other countries including Singapore, France, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Nepal.

But the thing isWhenever you click on ‘Pay Now’ or share your UPI ID from your UPI app through any third-party app such as Paytm, Google Pay, BHIM or PhonePe, there are high chances that your number is being shared.

This has caused a lot of trouble to people, especially women, as your number falling into the wrong hands can be dangerous, as we saw in the case of Diksha.

Via Ola, Uber and Rapido

One such common example of harassment of women is when you use a third-party ride-hailing app like Ola, Uber or Rapido, and you pay digitally using a payment service app.

india today Spoke to various women and found that many of them have faced similar problems where the drivers of these taxi apps harass them through messages on messaging apps like WhatsApp or UPI apps.

For example, in July 2023, a thread went viral on X in which a Bengaluru woman accused a Rapido bike driver of constantly messaging her on WhatsApp after the ride.

Swatishree Parthasarathy, a 25-year-old brand associate from Mumbai, said she has faced similar harassment when drivers try to “start a conversation” by sending her messages on G-Pay, which she usually ignores.

The social media platform is flooded with complaints from various women stating that the drivers send them messages.

Another reason why sharing your number via UPI payments is so dangerous is that it can expose your number to potential fraudsters. This has contributed to a significant increase in online scams in India.

Digital scams on the rise with online payments in India

• India has seen a sharp rise in the incidence of digital frauds, especially with the rapid expansion of digital payments. According to the RBI, digital payment frauds increased more than five-fold to Rs 14.57 billion (in a year) by the end of March 2024.
• This growth is linked to the widespread adoption of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which has led to a 137 percent increase in transactions over the last two years.
• This has left users more vulnerable to scams such as phishing, fake digital loan applications, and sextortion.

But is there a way out of this?

If you are wondering if there is a way to prevent your phone number from being shared when making digital payments, the simple answer is No,

We searched various platforms to find a way to effectively hide your number, but no completely reliable solution exists.

Regardless of whether you use a Virtual Payment Address (VPA) or UPI ID, in most cases, your UPI ID is linked to your phone number, often in the format of “@nameofbank” followed by your number, making it easier for others to access your number.

For example, on Paytm, your UPI ID is your phone number linked to your bank account, followed by the name of the bank.

We tried removing our phone number from our Paytm UPI ID and creating a new ID using our email address, which was possible earlier.

However, we can no longer do that. It seems that the latest update from Paytm has removed that option, and now any new UPI ID created on Paytm will have the phone number.

Similarly, on Google Pay, your UPI ID may be your email address, but once the payment is done, your phone number is displayed on the recipient’s phone.

So, the next time you take out your phone to make an online payment, keep in mind its pros and cons.

Pro tip: Avoid paying directly to drivers or delivery personnel when using apps like Ola, Uber, Amazon, Rapido, etc. You can always link UPI apps or use your credit and debit cards.