Is it safe to share my OTP with someone I trust?
No. An OTP is a one-time key that lets whoever has it do exactly one thing – move money, log in, change a password or get a SIM – in your name. No bank, company, delivery person or genuine friend needs your OTP, and "someone I trust" is exactly who scammers pretend to be.
Common tricks: a "bank executive" who needs the OTP to "stop a fraud", a courier who needs it to "deliver", a romantic partner who needs it to "receive a gift", a KYC update call. In every case the OTP completes a transaction the scammer started.
What to do
- Read the SMS before you do anything: it says what the OTP is for.
- If you did not start that transaction yourself, someone else did – do not share the OTP, and call your bank.
- Never read an OTP out on a call, and never type it into a link someone sent.
- If you already shared one, call your bank immediately and the 1930 helpline.
Frequently asked questions
- My partner from the internet asked for an OTP to "send me money". Is that real?
- No. Receiving money never needs an OTP or a UPI PIN from you. This is a scam.
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