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UPI Reviewed 28 July 2026

Scanned a QR to receive payment for a sofa

A buyer sent a QR code and said scanning it would credit the amount. The money left the account instead.

Amount lost
₹32,000
Recovered
₹32,000 returned after bank dispute
Reported by
R. Sharma Jaipur, Rajasthan

How it happened

He listed a sofa on a classifieds app. A buyer replied within an hour, said he was an Army officer being posted out of the city, and would pay the full amount in advance without seeing it. The profile photo was a man in uniform.

The buyer sent ₹5 first to 'test the account'. It arrived. Then came a QR code with the message that scanning it would credit ₹32,000. Scanning it and entering the UPI PIN sent ₹32,000 out.

He called 1930 within the hour and the bank the same evening, with the transaction ID and screenshots. The amount was credited back after eleven days.

Step by step

Buyer on a classifieds app agrees to the full price without seeing the item.
Claims to be armed forces personnel on urgent transfer.
Sends ₹5 as a 'test' so the account looks genuine.
Sends a QR code and says scanning it will credit the money.
Scan plus UPI PIN sends ₹32,000 out of the account.
Was it reported?

Yes

If this just happened to you
1930

National cyber crime helpline

How to report a fraud
Related fraud type
UPI request and QR code fraud

This account was submitted by a reader and reviewed by our moderation team. Names, numbers and identifying details have been removed. It is published for awareness and is not a legal record.

What this teaches

  • You never scan a QR code or enter a UPI PIN to receive money. Only to send it.
  • The 'armed forces, urgent posting' story appears in a large share of classifieds frauds.
  • Reporting within the hour is why this money came back.