Shanti’s Story
Shanti is a 37 year old woman from Osmanabad. Four years ago she lost her husband and has been working to earn enough money to take care of her household and raise her two children.
The year her husband passed away, Shanti started looking for jobs. She took up whatever came her way, sometimes even working as a cleaner in other people's homes. One day, a young boy who had moved to the village for work requested Shanti to make him a tiffin - this interaction was the beginning of Shanti's quest to run a tiffin service. She now runs a tiffin service, takes care of a stationery store and works on a farm to make ends meet.
Shanti has obtained a number of formal financial services. She has two bank accounts which were opened to receive government schemes and also has life insurance, a product she learnt about when her husband passed away. She even uses her ATM card to withdraw money instead of going to the bank.
Her most recent acquisition was a UPI account to support payments from her tiffin business. She first heard about UPI when her clients asked her if she accepted it. She began by accepting payments into her nephews account but soon decided that she would rather have her own account so as to not inconvenience her nephew.
To decide what app to get, Shanti went to the bank to inquire about the options available. They suggested she opt for the bank app. She came home and relayed this information to her family, they suggested that she get a conventional UPI app as they were easier to use, so she opted for that.
The installation and sign up process was done by her son, she only came in to learn how to use the app and discern if money had been recieved.
Four months into using the app, Shanti received a call from someone inquiring about her tiffin business. The caller requested 25 tiffin boxes and offered to pay ₹180 per tiffin, significantly higher than her usual rate of ₹70. Delighted, Shanti immediately began preparing the order and even made extra food.
Once she was done, Shanti requested the money be transferred via UPI/ as cash. The caller informed her that given that this was a high amount, he would need her bank account and debit card details which Shanti provided hesitantly.
The caller then asked for the ATM pin. This left Shanti feeling skeptical and she contacted her friend at the bank who warned her not to share anymore information.
Post this she called the number up and informed the person that they would either have to physically bring cash and pay for the order or the order would be cancelled. The caller became angry and tried to guilt her about wasting food, but Shanti stood her ground.
Shaken by the incident, Shanti temporarily blocked her account and withdrew all the money in it. After being reassured by the bank, she hopes to begin using the account again in a couple of days.
“But I have still not done it. I feel scared because of the recent fraud case. If the money is lost, it's gone. What if I miss any action while sending the money and it goes to the wrong person. That’s why I am a bit scared. I have not directly used it. I ask my children only to use it.” - Shanti
She mentioned that while she is frightened by the incident, she will continue using the account as it has helped her grow her business but with a bit more caution. She also added that she has educated herself on financial fraud through YouTube videos and Shows like Jamtara.