With festive shopping bringing attractive discounts, cashback deals, limited-period sales and gifting offers, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has urged consumers to take precautions while making digital payments to avoid falling victim to online scams.
As shoppers increasingly turn to online and offline platforms for festive purchases, fraudsters are exploiting the rush through fake websites, suspicious payment links and social engineering tactics designed to steal personal and financial information.
NPCI has outlined five important safety measures for consumers. It has advised shoppers to use only official applications and websites, avoid clicking on unknown links or downloading suspicious files, including those claiming to contain festive offers or greeting cards, and complete payments only through authorised platform checkout pages after verifying seller details.
Consumers have also been warned against unsolicited cashback, free vouchers and festival gift messages demanding OTPs, banking details or upfront fees. NPCI clarified that OTPs are meant only to authenticate transactions initiated by users and should never be shared with callers claiming to represent banks or payment applications.
The corporation further cautioned against messages creating urgency through claims of expiring offers, failed payments or account blocking. Consumers should verify such claims through official channels before responding.
NPCI recommends following the ‘Stop, Think, Act’ principle: pause when a request seems unexpected, verify its authenticity and act only after checking the source. These simple precautions can help consumers protect their money and enjoy safer festive shopping.
