PM Modi Deepfake Video Scam: Do You Need a UPI PIN to Receive Money?

Short answer: no. You never need a UPI PIN to receive money — not even ₹1. The PIN is only for money leaving your account. So if a video, a caller or a WhatsApp chat tells you to enter your PIN “to get your money”, it is a scam. Typing the PIN approves a payment from you, not to you. The Reserve Bank of India says it plainly: entering a PIN or OTP is not required to receive money.

This matters right now. On 19 October 2026, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which works under the Ministry of Home Affairs, warned about fake welfare-scheme ads on Facebook and Instagram. The ads use deepfake videos — videos edited with AI so that a real person seems to say things they never said. They show Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and several chief ministers “announcing” money for the needy. There is no such scheme. Here is how the trap works, step by step, drawn the same way as in our reel.

Step 1: a deepfake ad, a chat, then a foreign call

It starts with an ad in your feed. A familiar face, a familiar voice, and a promise: government help, cashback, or a spin-and-win prize. Because the face is the Prime Minister’s or your chief minister’s, it feels official. That is the whole point of the deepfake.

When you click, you don’t land on a government website. You land in a WhatsApp chat, or on a fake website, or you get a phone number to call. There they ask for your name, number and other details.

Then the call comes. According to the I4C warning, many of these calls come from international numbers, mostly starting with +92 — Pakistan’s country code. The caller says you have been “randomly selected” to receive funds. Stop here. A real Indian government scheme will not call you from a foreign number to tell you that you won. That is the first sign.

Step 2: fee after fee, and the scheme pays ₹0

Next, the “selected” person is told the money is ready — but first there is a small charge. The I4C advisory lists the names they use: registration fee, document verification charge, processing cost, tax. Each one is presented as the last one. After you pay it, a new one appears.

This is the core of the scam. The money they promise does not exist, so it never arrives. The only money that moves is yours, going to them. Every fee you pay also tells them you are willing to pay again, which is why the demands keep coming.

Here is an example to show how fast it adds up (these are made-up amounts, not from any real case). Say the caller asks for a ₹499 registration fee, then ₹1,200 for verification, then ₹2,500 for processing. That is ₹4,199 gone, and the “scheme” has still paid you ₹0. People keep paying because they have already paid once and don’t want to lose it. The scammers count on that feeling.

Remember who is on the screen. The voice and the face look real because AI copied them. I4C’s advice is to not assume a video or voice recording of a public figure is genuine just because it looks and sounds right.

Step 3: “Enter your PIN to receive the money”

The last trick is the most damaging. Victims are told that to receive the money, they must approve a request on their UPI app and enter their PIN. The scammer calls it “authentication”. It is not. It is a payment.

This works through a UPI collect request — a request someone sends you asking you to pay them. It pops up in your UPI app with an amount and an “Approve” button. The scammer may label it as a refund or a credit. But the moment you tap Approve and type your PIN, the amount leaves your account. I4C says victims are coaxed into approving collect requests from fake merchant names in exactly this way.

So here is the rule to remember: when money comes in, you do nothing. A friend sends you ₹500 on UPI, and it simply shows up in your account. You don’t scan anything, approve anything or type anything. If any screen asks for your PIN, you are on the paying side — every time, with no exceptions. The same goes for scanning a QR code: you scan a QR to pay, never to receive.

UPI is still safe to use when you follow this one rule. If you want to know what UPI actually costs you and when charges apply, read our guide on UPI charges from 15 October.

The 3 signs, and what to do if you were cheated

Keep these three signs in mind, and share them with parents and relatives who use UPI:

1. Asked for a fee? It is a scam. A government benefit that is “waiting for you” does not need a registration, verification or processing fee paid over WhatsApp or a phone call before it is released.
2. Asked for your PIN to receive money? It is a scam. A PIN is only ever needed to send money.
3. Check before you believe. Look up the scheme on the official website of the ministry or department that runs it. You can also send a suspicious video or message to PIB Fact Check at factcheck.pib.gov.in, the government’s fact-checking unit. If you can’t verify it online, I4C suggests asking at your local government office.

Also, never share your PAN, bank login details, OTP or UPI PIN with anyone who contacts you first.

If you already paid, act fast. Call 1930, the national cyber fraud helpline set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Then file a complaint at cybercrime.gov.in, and tell your bank so it can try to hold the money. Keep the transaction ID (UTR), the scammer’s number and screenshots of the chat ready. Speed matters, because the system works by stopping money before it moves on. As per the Home Ministry, by 30 June 2026 this reporting system had saved more than ₹11,158 crore across more than 32.80 lakh complaints. Calling the same day gives you the best chance.

The takeaway in one line: fee maangi = scam, and paisa lene ke liye PIN kabhi nahi. Have you seen one of these fake PM or CM videos in your feed? Tell us in the comments on the reel.