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Money sent to you by mistake on UPI? How to spot the refund scam

If a stranger calls to say they sent you money by mistake, do not send anything back yourself, do not approve any payment request, and never enter your UPI PIN, which is only ever needed to pay. First check your bank app or statement to see whether the money really arrived. If it did, tell your bank and let the sender raise a complaint through their own bank or UPI app, so the money goes back through the banks and not to whatever account the caller names.
A glass bowl full of Indian rupee coins on a wooden table
Photo: SandeepHanda on Pixabay

If a stranger says they paid you by mistake

Tap each one as you check it.

How the “sent by mistake” trick works

A small amount lands in your account, or you get a message that looks like a credit alert. Then a call or chat follows: the money was a mistake, it was meant for a sick relative or a shop, please return it now. The pressure is the point.

In October 2026 SBI warned customers about this as the “jumped deposit” scam. After the small credit, the caller sends a payment request for a much larger amount, and a person who enters their UPI PIN without reading the amount pays the bigger sum.

Example. Names and numbers are made up.

Other ways the same story costs you money

  • There was no credit at all. The “alert” was a text the caller typed, so anything you send back is your own money.
  • The caller asks you to send the refund to a different UPI ID, “because the old account is closed”. A real mistake goes back to the account it came from.
  • The money is real but came from someone else's stolen funds. Accounts that receive money linked to a fraud complaint can be put on hold or frozen while police investigate, even when the holder did nothing wrong.
Since 1 October 2025, ordinary people can no longer send each other UPI collect requests. A pop-up asking you to approve a payment, after a stranger's call, is a red flag in itself.

Real mistake or scam: how to tell

Signs it is a scam

  • The only proof is a text or a screenshot
  • They send a payment request, link or QR code
  • They want it sent to a new UPI ID or number
  • They push you to act in minutes
  • They tell you not to involve the bank

What a genuine mistake looks like

  • The credit shows in your own bank app
  • You only ever have to receive, never pay, to check it
  • The money goes back to the same account
  • The sender complains through their own bank
  • They are fine with the bank handling it

How to return a genuine wrong credit

Open your bank app or statement yourself, not a link from the caller, and confirm the amount, date and sender. If the money is there, call your bank on the number in its app or on your card and say you received a credit you do not recognise.

Ask the sender to raise a complaint for the transaction in their own UPI app or with their bank. That request reaches your bank, which asks you to agree to the reversal, so the money goes back to the account it came from. In 2023 Tripura Police went further and advised people not to return such money over UPI at all, but in cash at the local police station, with the sender showing ID.

If you are the one who paid the wrong person, the route is the same from the other side: raise a complaint on the transaction in your UPI app, then with your bank, then with NPCI if it is not solved. Recovery from a valid but wrong UPI ID is not guaranteed, because it depends on the other person agreeing. Check the name shown before you pay, as in how to check a UPI ID before paying.

If it already happened

  1. If you entered your PIN or paid, call your bank immediately and ask it to block UPI and flag the transaction as fraud.
  2. Write down the caller's number, UPI ID, transaction reference and time, and keep screenshots of the chat.
  3. If you received real money and returned nothing, tell your bank in writing that you did not ask for it and are willing to have it reversed.
  4. If your account is put on hold, ask the bank in writing which restriction applies, for what amount, and which police complaint it is linked to.
  5. Block the number and report it in the app it used.
  • Call 1930The national cyber fraud helpline. Call within hours if money left your account.
  • cybercrime.gov.inFile a complaint online and keep the acknowledgement number.
  • Chakshu on Sanchar SaathiReport a fraud call, SMS or WhatsApp number.

Questions

Can I keep money sent to me by mistake?
No. It is not yours, and the sender can ask their bank to recover it. Report it to your bank and let the banks reverse it, rather than spending it or sending it on.
Do I need my UPI PIN to receive or return a refund?
You never need your PIN to receive money. You only enter it to pay, so a caller who asks for it, or asks you to approve a request, is asking you to pay them.
I sent money to the wrong UPI ID. How do I get it back?
Raise a complaint on that transaction in your UPI app, then contact your bank, and escalate to NPCI if it is not resolved. If the UPI ID belongs to a real person, the money comes back only if they agree.
Why would a scammer send me real money?
To make the story believable before a larger payment request, or because the money was stolen from someone else and they want it moved on. Either way, returning it on their terms is the risk.

Realr does not check payments or UPI IDs, but if a stranger wants money from you for any reason, you can ask them to prove who they are with a Realr check first.

Ask them to verify

Sources

Checked against the sources above on 17 October 2026. By Manav Sharma, Marketing Team, Realr. This is general guidance, not legal advice.

Ask them to prove who they are, before you pay or meet.

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