The PayM scam is where scammers attempt to impersonate the mobile payment service, Paym. The potential victims receive texts from the number 61111 claiming to be Paym. The texts ask recipients to register their bank account details in order to receive money that’s supposedly been sent to them. But, if the scammers' instructions are followed, they will steal their victims' personal and financial information and use it fraudulently.
A PayM Scam Text
"Someone has tried to send you money via Paym,the UK’s mobile payment service. To learn more about Paym,contact your bank or building society. Opt-out?Reply STOP"
What is PayM?
Paym is a service that lets you pay people via their phone number. You can integrate this into your existing bank app – all you need to do is register for paym with your current bank (provided your bank supports paym). Instead of having to always get an account number and sort code, you can just transfer money to people using their number via paym.
To make it clear – paym is a legitimate payment service. The scammers are only claiming to be this service in order to scam unknowing consumers.
How does the paym scam work?
Victims are receiving texts from the number 61111 claiming to be paym. The texts asks recipients to register their bank account details in order to receive money that’s supposedly been sent to them. If victims fall for this, the scammers have their bank details and can potentially steal money from their account.
What’s the best way to defend yourself again this scam and others like it?
The bottom line – never give your bank details to any company that texts you, emails you or messages you. Even if they claim to be a legitimate institution, make sure that you call the customer service of said institutions to verify that the request has actually come from them. 99% of the time requests like this will be a scam.