People in India use multiple payment apps, and in many cases, they switch from one payment app to another without deactivating the old UPI ID. If you’ve done this, this carelessness could empty your bank account. According to reports, deleting payment apps doesn’t delete the UPI ID, and if the number is deactivated or assigned to someone else by your telecom operator, your account could be transferred to someone else, leaving it empty.
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Creating a new UPI ID is very easy and this is the reason why people create a new UPI ID whenever they want and do not care about the old ID. This often happens when people change UPI payment apps frequently and leave the old UPI ID active. Cyber experts warn that your old UPI ID can cause huge harm. Some people believe that deleting a payment app also deletes the UPI ID created in it, whereas this is not the case. Just deleting the payment app does not delete the UPI ID present in it and if it falls into someone else’s hands, it will not take long for your account to be emptied.
Deleting the payment app does not delete your UPI ID.
There’s a common misconception that deleting a payment app means everything is gone. This is actually incorrect. Reports indicate that deleting an app only removes its interface from your phone, while your UPI ID, linked bank accounts, auto-pay mandates, and UPI Lite banking layer remain fully active in the background. Unless you manually deactivate or delete your ID from within the app , it remains alive in the banking system. ( REF. )
Why are old UPI IDs dangerous?
You may be aware that after a certain period of time, telecom companies sell inactive or deactivated numbers to someone else. If your old UPI ID remains linked to that number, the new owner may start receiving your banking transactions and alerts.
According to reports, in such a situation, fraudsters can hack into your account through SIM-swap. In such a situation, keeping your old UPI ID active always keeps a backdoor open to access your account. This is why it becomes necessary to deactivate the UPI IDs that you are not using.
How to keep yourself safe
- Currently, there is no universal dashboard to view the UPI ID across all apps, but you can check the ID linked to your number by visiting the official website of NPCI .
- You can also check which UPI IDs are linked to your number by going to the UPI section of your banking app.
- To be safe, unlink your bank accounts from old payment apps you no longer use. Then, permanently delete your UPI ID. Don’t forget to disable any active auto-pay mandates while doing so.
- If you are changing your number, then definitely get your new number updated in the bank.
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