🚨 WARNING: Fake Payment SMS Scam — Do Not Send Money Back!

🚨 WARNING: Fake Payment SMS Scam — Do Not Send Money Back! I am sharing a recent fraud attempt that happened with my mother as a warning to others, because similar scams can happen to anyone. On 17 August 2026, at around 11:15 AM, my mother received a call from an unknown person. The caller claimed that her husband had asked him to make a payment of ₹9,000 to her. He initially transferred ₹5,000 and asked her to check whether the amount had been received. At the same time, he sent messages that appeared to look like bank transaction SMS notifications. Since the messages appeared genuine and a notification also appeared on the phone, my mother believed that the ₹5,000 had been received and confirmed it to him. The caller then said that he would send the remaining amount. Shortly afterwards, another transaction message appeared showing ₹40,000. The caller immediately claimed that he had accidentally transferred ₹40,000 instead of ₹4,000 and asked us to return ₹36,000 to a number/account that he would provide. This immediately raised suspicion. We checked the actual bank balance and Google Pay transaction history, and there was no corresponding increase in the account balance. The supposed payments had not actually been credited. The messages were being used to create the impression that money had been received. The caller also claimed that my mother's husband had instructed him to make the payment. We independently contacted him and confirmed that he had never given any such instruction. At that point, it became clear that this was an attempted payment fraud. The scammer was trying to make us believe that money had been transferred and then persuade us to send the supposed excess amount back. ⚠️ Please be careful • Do not rely only on SMS messages or pop-up notifications as proof of payment. • Check your actual bank balance and transaction history. • Verify the transaction [TXN_ID] through your banking app or Google Pay. • Independently contact the person who supposedly authorized the payment. • Never return an alleged “excess payment” until you have independently confirmed that the original amount was genuinely credited. • If you receive a suspicious call, report the number as spam/fraud on Truecaller and avoid further communication with the caller. I am sharing this experience so that others can recognize this type of scam and avoid losing money. Stay alert. Verify every transaction [TXN_ID] before sending any money.