Fact Check: How true is this claim about FASTag scam?

New Delhi, Jun 26: A viral video doing rounds on the internet showed a boy stealing money from a car driver's account by scanning a FASTag account.

Wearing an apple watch, the boy, on the pretext of cleaning the car, scanned the FASTag sticker and siphoned of the money out of the driver's wallet.

A man in the video claimed how kids are robbing off money using FASTag. In the viral clip, the boy cleans the car's window while scanning the FASTag through his wristwatch.

A #viral Video claims that devices like watches are being used to swipe the #Fastag on vehicles, leading to fraudulent deduction of money from prepaid wallets.#PIBFactCheck:

▶️ This Video is #FAKE

▶️ Such transactions are not possible

▶️ Each Toll Plaza has a unique code pic.twitter.com/n7p01AXF4A

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) June 25, 2022

The creator of the video claims that the boy ran away after the people inside the car asked him a few questions. He then said that it was a new way to cheat people using the children.

Hence, the video maker appealed to people to not fall prey to the scam. This clip obviously worried car owners as they would become victims of the new fraud.

How True is this Claim?
Well, it is a fake claim simply because FASTag stickers cannot be scanned in such a manner to deduct money from your account. As per NETC guidelines, FASTag payments can be initiated only by authorised merchants, onboarded after multiple rounds of testing.

A strong clarification has come from National Electronic Toll Collection (NPCI). In a statement, it said that it is a false video. "No financial transactions can be initiated without all the pre-requisites mentioned in the image. NPCI has already taken action to respond to these videos and delist them from the Social media platforms," it said in a tweet.

"Every acquirer bank is provided with a unique acquire ID (AID). The combination of the plaza code and bank acquirer ID is mapped at the NPCI end. Geo-location of every merchant (plaza) has been stored at respective acquirer banks and NPCI," NPCI added.

Please note that there are baseless and false videos circulating on Social media. Do understand the below points:

1. No transactions can be executed through open internet connectivity. pic.twitter.com/yTcNGt8R0c

— NPCI (@NPCI_NPCI) June 25, 2022

Even PayTm came out with a statement saying that it is a "safe & secure" medium for FASTag transactions.

A video is spreading misinformation about Paytm FASTag that incorrectly shows a smartwatch scanning FASTag. As per NETC guidelines, FASTag payments can be initiated only by authorised merchants, onboarded after multiple rounds of testing. Paytm FASTag is completely safe & secure. pic.twitter.com/BmXhq07HrS

— Paytm (@Paytm) June 25, 2022

Press Information Bureau has stated that such transactions are not possible. Thus ending the confusion around people miusing your FASTag account.