Conmen Dupe Business Owners Using Prank Paytm App

Dubbed as ‘Prank Paytm’, the fake app shows a message exactly like the original Paytm payment screen that shows the payment has been successful.

(Photo: The Quint)

At a time when the country is struggling to fight fake news, incidents of con artists duping shop owners with a fake Paytm app have surfaced in Hyderabad.

According to a Deccan Chronicle report, three supermarkets and two other shops — Heritage Fresh, Abids, First Cry Kids and Almond House in Hyderabad were cheated of amounts of up to Rs 2 lakh using the 'Prank Paytm' app.

Dubbed as ‘Prank Paytm’, the fake app shows a message exactly like the original Paytm payment screen that shows the payment has been successful.

The incident came to light when the shopkeepers found that the amounts have not been credited to their account during tallying.

The fraudsters downloaded the 'Prank Paytm' app from Google Play Store, which was intended to prank friends and acquaintances. The app also shows a warning message informing users that the app is intended to prank people and that the user is responsible for any misuse of the application.

Commissioner's Task Force DCP, P Radhakrishna Rao told Deccan Chronicle that after shopping, the thieves pretend to be using the PayTm app on their phones to pay the bill. They enter the details in the prank version, which shows a message mimicking the original saying that the payment has been made. They show the cashier the message with a fake transaction ID.

The developers of the app have however, modified the app and restricted the downloads as soon as they got to know about the incident. It cannot be accessed on the Play Store now.

(With inputs from Deccan Chronicle.)