What is a screen-sharing scam, and how does a single call lead to UPI fraud?

One call, and your entire bank account is wiped clean. Find out how fraudsters are stealing hard-earned money by watching your screen. Your UPI wallet can be emptied just by downloading a single app—stay vigilant.

Incidents of screen-sharing scams have surged recently, with people losing their life savings over a single phone call. This fraud is executed so cunningly that even educated, tech-savvy individuals fall victim to it. Let’s understand how this scam works and how a bank account can be drained with just one call.

How does the scam begin?

Typically, scammers call, posing as employees of a bank, customer care service, insurance company, or shopping app. Often, the process starts when a user searches for a customer care number and finds a fake one on Google that looks authentic. To build trust, scammers use banking-related terminology, ensuring the victim remains unsuspicious.

In many cases, scammers call under the pretext of processing a refund, cashback, KYC update, or reversing a fake subscription charge. Once the victim believes they are about to get money back or resolve an issue, they tend to comply with everything the scammer says.

The role of screen-sharing apps

This is where the real scheme unfolds. The scammer asks the victim to download a screen-sharing app like AnyDesk, TeamViewer, or Quick Support. They claim that sharing the screen is necessary to fix the issue or process the refund. While these apps are designed for office meetings or technical support, scammers misuse them. Once the app is downloaded and generates a code, and the victim shares that code with the scammer, the scammer gains full visibility of the phone's screen.

UPI PINs and OTPs become weapons

After the screen is shared, the scammer tells the victim that they need to approve a small UPI request or fill out a form within an app to receive the refund. In reality, this request is not for receiving money but for sending it. Since the scammer can already see the victim's screen, they can view the UPI PIN in real-time the moment the victim enters it.

The account is drained in seconds.

Once the scammer obtains the UPI PIN or OTP, they quickly execute multiple consecutive transactions to withdraw funds from the account. With screen sharing active, the scammer is also aware of the remaining balance and the available avenues for transferring funds. In most cases, the victim remains unaware of the situation until they start receiving notifications from the bank regarding the debits.