Free payment check · UPI, links, websites
Before you pay, check who you're paying
Enter who you're about to pay and how: a UPI ID, a payment link, a shop's website, a phone number, the amount and what it's for. You can add a screenshot of the request too. Kindyra OS checks the details, shows every warning sign with the reason, and tells you the careful way to pay. Free, no account needed.
Free tool that checks a payment request before you pay. How it works
- A clear light: red, amber or green, with every signal and why
- Checks on links and UPI IDs: lookalike addresses, new websites, personal IDs for company payments
- What to do instead: the safer way to pay this person, or to check them first
What it checks
- Links and websites.
Lookalike addresses (paypa1.com, hdfcbank-kyc-update.in), letters from other alphabets, a real brand's name in front of a fake address, short links that hide where they go, free hosting, pages that aren't https, cheap address endings, and when the website was registered, from the public registration records.
- UPI IDs and UPI QR codes.
Whether the ID looks like a person's mobile number when a "company" or "bank" is asking, whether it matches the name you were given, and what a UPI QR code really pays (read on your device, in browsers that can).
- Phone numbers.
In India, banks and other regulated finance firms call from 1600 numbers (TRAI). A "bank" calling from an ordinary mobile number is a warning sign.
- How you're paying.
Gift cards, crypto, wire transfers, cash by courier and payment apps like Zelle or UPI to strangers are hard or impossible to undo. Cards and official checkouts can usually be disputed.
- What it's for.
Paying to receive a refund or prize, paying to stop an arrest or a blocked account, deposits for things you haven't seen, investment groups, secrecy and screen-sharing apps.
Payment scams to know
- "Update your KYC or your account will be blocked."
A text with a link that looks like your bank's. Indian banks now use .bank.in web addresses, which only banks can register.
- "Your parcel is held" or "digital arrest".
A caller says you'll be arrested unless you pay. Police, customs and courts never take payment over the phone or by UPI.
- "Enter your PIN to receive the refund."
Entering a UPI PIN always sends money out. You never pay to receive money.
- Deposits for flats, cars and pets.
A seller you haven't met, often "posted away" or abroad, wants a token amount by UPI or Zelle before you see anything.
- Fake shops.
A brand-new website with prices far below everywhere else that only takes bank transfer, a payment app or crypto.
Pay the careful way
- Open the app or website yourself.
Don't pay through a link someone sent. Type the address or use the app you already have.
- Call back on a number you trust.
Use the number on your card, a bill or the official website, never the one in the message.
- Check the name before your PIN.
Your UPI app shows the account holder's registered name. If it isn't who you meant to pay, stop.
- Use a way to pay that protects you.
For purchases, a credit card or the platform's own checkout lets you dispute the charge.
Why it never says "safe"
No tool can see inside a bank account or know who really controls a website. So the best result here is "no red flags found", always with what to still check. Members can also search the web for scam reports and official pages about the website, UPI ID or number, with the sources shown.
If you already paid
Call your bank straight away on the number on your card and ask them to stop the payment. In India, call 1930 or report at cybercrime.gov.in. In the US, report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. More countries: how to report a scam. Got a message rather than a payment request? Run it through the free Pressure Check.
Questions
Can it tell me if a payment is safe?
No, and nothing can for certain. It checks the details you enter for known warning signs and tells you what to verify. When it finds nothing, it says "no red flags found" and what to still check, such as the name your UPI app shows before you enter your PIN.
How do I check a UPI ID before paying?
Enter it above. Kindyra OS checks whether it looks like a personal mobile-number ID or a merchant ID, whether it matches the name you were given and what it's for. Before you enter your PIN, your UPI app also shows the account holder's registered name: make sure it's who you meant to pay.
How can I tell if a website is real before I pay?
Look at the end of the address, not the start: paypal.com.secure-login.xyz is on secure-login.xyz. Watch for swapped letters, brand-new websites and shops that only take bank transfer, crypto or payment apps. Kindyra OS checks all of these and looks up when the site was registered.
What is .bank.in?
Following an RBI circular from April 2025, banks in India have moved their websites to addresses ending in .bank.in, which only banks can register, through IDRBT. A site claiming to be an Indian bank on any other address deserves a careful look.
Do you store what I enter?
No. The details and any screenshot are checked and then discarded. To explain the result we send them to our AI provider, Anthropic, and to look up a website's registration date we ask the public registration records for that address only. We keep only aggregate counts.
Is it free?
Yes. Three payment checks a day without an account, and ten a day when you sign in free with your email. Members can also search the web for scam reports.