Just lost money to a UPI or payment scam? Act now — call 1930, tell your bank, and report online. Free to keep, screenshot, or share. Nothing to sign up for.
First, if your phone may be compromised: if a scammer had you install an app they sent, share your screen (AnyDesk or any remote-access app), or read out an OTP, do not open your bank app on that phone — call your bank from another phone or device. Opening the app on a phone the scammer can see hands them a live, logged-in session. If your number suddenly has no signal and you have stopped getting OTPs, your SIM may have been swapped — see SIM swap fraud: signs and what to do, and reclaim your number first.
First — in parallel. Call 1930 and tell your bank at the same time. If you can only do one at a time, call 1930 first (it holds the money trail across banks), then tell your bank. Have the transaction ID / UTR, the amount and the time ready — do not delete the fraud SMS or bank alert, and do not uninstall the app: that is where those details live, and both 1930 and your bank ask for them. Note the reference number 1930 gives you. Ask the bank to flag the debit as unauthorised and block further debits — if your phone may be compromised (see the warning above), do this from another phone, not by opening the app on the affected one.
Next. File a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in. Save the acknowledgement number and any screenshots.
Then. Change your UPI PIN and account passwords; check for any other unauthorised debits; keep all reference numbers together. Do this from a different, trusted device — never from a phone that may be compromised. If your number was SIM-swapped (no signal, no OTPs), reclaim your number first: changing PINs before then can send the reset OTP to the fraudster. See SIM swap fraud.
This applies to any bank transfer, not only UPI — the same first-hour steps apply to a large NEFT / IMPS / RTGS transfer. Reporting fast lets the system behind 1930 and cybercrime.gov.in (run by the national cyber-crime coordination body under the Ministry of Home Affairs) pass the transaction details to the banks involved, so the money trail can be followed and there is a chance the funds are held before the fraudster withdraws them — this often fails once money is moved on, which is why speed helps. Reporting promptly also matters under the RBI’s time-tiered framework for limiting a customer’s liability in unauthorised electronic transactions. Recovery, and a limited or zero-liability outcome, are possible but never guaranteed.
Keep every complaint acknowledgement number. If your bank does not resolve the matter within a reasonable time, you can escalate to the RBI Ombudsman (cms.rbi.org.in) and seek redress through the consumer grievance system via the National Consumer Helpline — a right to pursue, not a guaranteed refund.
Beware a second scam: the only ways to report are 1930, cybercrime.gov.in, and your own bank. Anyone who phones or messages offering to recover your lost money for a fee — a "recovery agent", "refund officer", or fake "cyber cell" — is a fresh fraud. Never pay to get your money back.