FASTag viral fake video: Government body reacts; says not possible, payment safe

No individual can steal money by scanning FASTag, the National Payments Council of India clarified after a scripted video went viral.

Published on: Jun 25, 2022, 21:25:11 IST

By HT News Desk | Written by Poulomi Ghosh

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A fake video showing how kids are stealing money by scanning a FASTag on the pretext of wiping the windshield of the car has gone viral with many social media users believing in the doctored video. The National Payments Council of India issued a clarification and said it is not possible for an individual to scan the FASTag and get money from the owner's account. The video has been doing the rounds for quite a few days but went viral after IAS officer Awanish Sharan reposted the video, asking 'Is it true?' After it was revealed that it was a doctored video, the IAS officer deleted the tweet.

Paytm said the video is fake and the FASTag is safe. (Photo: Paytm Twitter handle)

So, what is the controversy all about? The viral video showed a car the windshield of which was being cleaned by a young boy. Those who were sitting inside the car talked to him and asked about the watch on his wrist and the boy ran away. The video maker then explained that it is a new scam where children who beg at traffic signals are being given high-end watches with scanners. As they clean the windshield, they scan the tag, the man sitting inside the car claimed, asking everyone to be very cautious.

Paytm put out a statement and said the video is only spreading misinformation about FAStag. It said FASTag payments can be initiated only by authorised merchants, onboarded after multiple rounds of testing.

The National Payments Council of India clarified FASTag operated only for person-to-merchant transactions. An individual can not receive money in the ecosystem and only authorised system integrators are allowed to participate for specific plazas and initiate payment transactions.

Transactions can also not take place in open internet connectivity. "Every acquirer bank is provided with a unique acquire ID (AID). The combination of the plaza code and bank acquirer ID is mapped at the NPCI end. Geo-location of every merchant (plaza) has been stored at respective acquirer banks and NPCI," NPCI said.

FASTag is a tag fitted on vehicles that facilitates electronic toll collection. It is a prepaid, rechargeable tag and is operated by 23 banks.

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HT News Desk
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