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Paytm users raising complaints on Twitter must beware of these fake bots

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A prominent problem faced by Twitter users since its boss Elon Musk did away with the legacy verified accounts, has been to identify legitimate accounts on the microblogging site. Musk’s decision to introduce a subscription fee of $8 for account verification has created a problem where users can easily fall prey to misinformation by unknowingly interacting with catfishers since anyone can pay for verification under the new policy.

Fake bots were seen targeting individuals who may require assistance with payment or other Paytm-related problem.(REUTERS)
Fake bots were seen targeting individuals who may require assistance with payment or other Paytm-related problem.(REUTERS)

This issue has recently become evident when searching for ‘Paytm’ on Twitter, as it triggers responses from at least four fake accounts impersonating the customer care of the financial technology company.

Fake Paytm bots seen replying to tweets containing the key term 'Paytm'.
Fake Paytm bots seen replying to tweets containing the key term ‘Paytm’.

When users tweet ‘Paytm’, they have observed that unverified bot accounts are offering a customer care number, targeting individuals who may require assistance with payment or other Paytm-related problems. These bots can be deceptive, particularly because Paytm’s official customer care account on Twitter, named ‘Paytm care’, is also unverified.

Moreover, these bots mimic the writing style typically used by the digital payment company when responding to customers on Twitter, further making the users believe that they may be legitimate. However, there are methods available to identify these bots.

Paytm Care's real account encouraging users to share queries in private message.
Paytm Care’s real account encouraging users to share queries in private message.

How to identify these bots?

These fake bots can be easily identified by looking at their usernames. Typically, they consist of a series of random numbers and may include the term “Paytm” in their usernames, indicating that they are likely fake accounts. Another indicator is that genuine Paytm Care tweets commonly suggest using the direct message option to address any queries, rather than providing a customer care number. Users can further confirm the authenticity of these accounts by paying attention to the content of the bots’ messages, which often contain spelling errors, incoherent writing, inconsistent fonts, among others.


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