Paytm forcing users to uninstall TeamViewer apps apparently to prevent frauds

Earlier this month a gang in India reportedly managed to con a Paytm customer based in Mumbai about INR 1.72 Lakh by simply asking them to update their KYC (know your customer) details.

Apparently, the victim was sent a message by the gang threatening to block his Paytm account if he didn’t update his KYC details. When the victim called the provided number as instructed, he was further asked to download the TeamViewer app and send one rupee to any Paytm user.

Thanks to the downloaded TeamViewer app, the gang was able to access the victim’s Paytm login details and before he knew it, about INR 1.72 Lakh, an equivalent of about $2,400, had been siphoned from his bank account.

Even though the gang was reportedly nabbed, Paytm is seemingly taking matters to the next level by actually blocking its customers from using the service as long as they have TeamViewer installed on their phones.

Paytm blocking TeamViewer users (Source)

According to Paytm, the reason for this is a security feature that is designed to prevent frauds – perhaps frauds like the one that recently saw someone conned close to $2,400. As a result, their devs have blacklisted multiple TeamViewer apps.

Hi! It is the security feature designed to prevent the frauds. This feature help prevent fraud by not letting fraudsters using these apps. We request you to kindly use your work profile in order to use these apps.
Source

Solution? Paytm suggests that you first uninstall the TeamViewer app before using their services. As expected, this is turning out to be a nightmare for affected users who have genuine TeamViewer apps installed on their devices.

Alternatively, ensure the TeamViewer app in question is signed in using your work profile, otherwise, you won’t be able to use Paytm whatsoever. As expected, TeamViewer has contacted Paytm for a quick solution on this matter, although we can’t tell when it will actually be fixed.

Paytm blocks TeamViewer apps (Source)

TeamViewer is adamant that their apps are secure thanks to end-to-end encryption, suggesting that they shouldn’t be the subject of contention here. Nonetheless, it’s happening and only Paytm can address the matter, so we wait.

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