Screen-sharing and remote access app scams

Installing a remote access app for a stranger is the same as handing him your unlocked phone.

How it works

Remote support apps are genuine tools that let a technician see or control a device from far away. Fraudsters misuse them.

1. A caller posing as bank staff, a wallet's support desk, an electricity office or a computer company says something must be fixed: a refund, KYC, a blocked card, a virus.
2. He asks you to install an app from the app store, or sends a file. He names it "support app" or "KYC app".
3. He asks for the code the app shows, or tells you to tap Allow and Start now on the permission screens.
4. Now he can see your screen. He asks you to open your bank or UPI app "to check". As you type, he sees your PIN, your balance and every OTP that arrives. With some apps he can tap on the screen himself.

A second version comes as a file on WhatsApp: "traffic challan", "wedding invitation", "bank rewards" or "electricity bill" ending in .apk. Installed, it reads and forwards your messages silently. See fake challan and APK files.

The signs

• A caller asks you to install something. No bank, wallet, government office or delivery company does this.
• The phone shows a warning that your screen is being shared or recorded, or a coloured dot or cast icon appears in the status bar.
• You are asked to read out a 9 or 10 digit code shown by an app.
• The phone acts by itself: taps, typing or screens changing.
• You are told to ignore the warnings your phone shows.

If you have installed such an app

1. Disconnect at once: turn on flight mode or switch the phone off. That cuts the stranger's view.
2. From another phone, call your bank's official helpline and ask them to block cards, UPI and net banking. Dial 1930 if any money has moved.
3. With the network still off, uninstall the app. On Android also look in Settings › Apps for anything you do not recognise, and in Settings › Accessibility for unknown services, and turn them off.
4. Change passwords and PINs of banking, email and UPI from a different device.
5. If the phone still behaves strangely, back up photos and do a factory reset.

Prevention

• Never install an app, tap a link or share a code because someone on a call asks you to.
• Leave "Install unknown apps" switched off on Android. See Android privacy settings.
• Many banking apps now refuse to open while the screen is shared. Do not look for ways round that protection.
• A real technician you called yourself, from a company you chose, may use remote support. Stay at the screen, never open banking apps during the session, and remove the app afterwards.

If money has already gone

1. Dial 1930 at once. It is the national helpline for victims of financial cyber fraud. Give the transaction details; the earlier the report, the better the chance that the money can be held before it is moved on.
2. Call your bank or card company on its official number and block the card, UPI or account. Report the transaction as unauthorised and note the complaint number.
3. File the complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, cybercrime.gov.in, and keep the acknowledgement number.
4. Keep everything: screenshots, numbers, UPI IDs, account numbers, transaction references, links, the app's name. Do not delete chats.

The full checklist, with what to keep ready, is on what to do after a fraud. Helpline and portal checked on 12 November 2026.

Independent guide. This is not a government, bank or police website. Helplines and rules were checked at official sources on 12 November 2026; confirm on the official site before relying on them.