Card Pairing Safety: Protect Your Debit Card and UPI

What you should know

Card pairing can refer to different ways of linking a payment card to an app, wallet, gaming service or online account. Linking a card is not automatically unsafe, but an unknown person or platform asking you to link your card on their behalf deserves careful scrutiny.

Only enter card details on a service you independently verified and intended to use. Never share OTP, CVV, PIN, UPI PIN, password or screen-sharing access with a recruiter, agent or stranger.

red flags

• Someone asks you to pair your card to their account
• promises commission for linking a payment method
• asks you to read out an OTP
• requests a screen recording or remote access
• asks you to bypass bank security alerts.

Safer next steps

Contact your bank immediately if you shared details or approved an unknown transaction. Ask the bank to block or replace affected payment credentials and review recent activity.

For suspected financial cyber fraud in India, call 1930 promptly or visit cybercrime.gov.in. Contact your bank through its official channel.