A video widely shared on social media this week has sparked concern over possible misuse of QR codes for payments at public parking sites. The clip shows a parking attendant allegedly using a Razorpay point-of-sale device to display a personal PhonePe QR code for fee collection, instead of an official account.<\/p>\n
In the video, a motorist can be seen questioning the attendant after noticing that the payment page reflects the name \u201cVinod Kumar\u201d rather than that of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The attendant identifies himself as Vinod Kumar and claims the payment is collected on behalf of the parking contractor. The video, recorded in what appears to be an MCD parking lot, quickly went viral under the caption \u201cNew scam unlocked.\u201d<\/p>\n
RAZORPAY, PAYTM FOUNDERS RESPOND<\/p>\n
Responding to the post, Razorpay co-founder Shashank Kumar wrote on X that the company will soon disable gallery access on its devices unless required, to prevent sellers from uploading or displaying unauthorised QR codes. The update, he said, will make such scams harder to execute.<\/p>\n
The incident triggered debate among users and industry voices about how digital payment systems can be manipulated when physical devices are in the hands of intermediaries such as parking attendants or vendors. Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma and others also reacted to the clip, calling for stronger safeguards and consumer awareness.<\/p>\n
HOW THE TRICK WORKS<\/p>\n
Experts say such scams often involve displaying a fake QR code, either printed or on a device screen, that redirects payments to a personal account. Unsuspecting users, assuming the code is official, may complete the transaction without verifying the payee details. This can result in money being transferred directly to the fraudster.<\/p>\n
In this case, the video appears to show a QR code generated or displayed from the device\u2019s photo gallery, a loophole that allows a legitimate payment terminal to be used for unauthorised transfers.<\/p>\n
Razorpay\u2019s proposed software change (restricting gallery access) would make it harder for a device to show a QR image pulled from its photo gallery, a simple but useful step if the attack relies on gallery images pasted into the POS UI.<\/p>\n
WHAT USERS CAN DO<\/p>\n
Customers are advised to check the recipient\u2019s name before approving any UPI payment. The displayed name should match the business or authority collecting the fee. If the name seems unfamiliar, the payment should be cancelled immediately.<\/p>\n
Authorities have also advised citizens to rely on official apps or verified payment links where possible, especially for parking, fines, or utility payments. Any suspected case of fraud should be reported to the payment app and local police with transaction details.<\/p>\n
While the authenticity of the attendant\u2019s explanation remains unclear, the viral clip highlights a growing risk tied to India\u2019s expanding digital payment ecosystem. Even small loopholes in point-of-sale systems can be exploited for personal gain.
Razorpay\u2019s quick response suggests the fintech sector is taking note, but for users, verifying before paying remains the strongest protection.<\/p>\n
– Ends<\/p>\n
Published By: <\/p>\n
Priyanka Kumari<\/p>\n
Published On: <\/p>\n
Nov 7, 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A video widely shared on social media this week has sparked concern over possible misuse of QR codes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168677,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[257],"tags":[96706,8490,18,19,17,96707,279,4979,96708,96705,70100,96709,96704,82,76974,26211],"class_list":["post-168676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-delhi-parking","tag-digital-payments","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mcd","tag-mobile","tag-phonepe","tag-point-of-sale","tag-qr-code-scam","tag-razorpay","tag-razorpay-update","tag-shashank-kumar","tag-technology","tag-upi-fraud","tag-vijay-shekhar-sharma"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115510751029244721","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}