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Madhya Pradesh: Fraudsters replace UPI QR codes outside shops to dupe customers
According to police, nearly half a dozen establishments, including petrol pumps, were affected in the Chhatarpur district's Khajuraho region.
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Police in the Khajuraho region of Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur district are investigating a series of thefts in which thieves replaced QR codes of shops and establishments with their own QR codes, resulting in the money being transferred into the fraudsters' accounts.
According to police, nearly half a dozen establishments, including petrol pumps, were affected.
In some cases, QR codes of shops were swapped with the fraudulent ones, while in other cases, new codes were pasted directly over the original ones.
Khajuraho police station in-charge Atul Dixit confirmed the incidents.
Dixit told India Today, “The matter has come to our attention, although no formal complaints have been filed by the shopkeepers yet. We are investigating the issue and the culprits will be caught soon.”
How was the fraud discovered?
As per the report, the thefts came to light when store owners opened their stores in the morning, only to discover they were not receiving payments from customers.
Omvati Gupta, who runs a medical shop, said a buyer pointed out to her that the QR code being scanned displayed a different name, "Chhotu Tiwari", instead of the store's name.
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Gupta quickly replaced the fraudulent code and reviewed the CCTV footage of the shop. It showed three masked men replacing the real code late at night.
A QR code showing the same “Chhotu Tiwari” name was also reported by customers at a petrol pump.
In another instance, Nitesh Gupta, a store owner, lost ₹985 and ₹10 due to a fraudulent QR code pasted outside his shop. Other victims included a popular biryani and egg shop, a paan shop, and additional local establishments.
Also Read: Scan QR code to hear musical sounds of stone pillars at Hampi temple
Authorities have now urged establishments to regularly inspect their QR codes and report any suspicious activities.
