Almost a month back, a 3.42-minute video clip was getting viral on various social media
platforms where a young child, while cleaning the windshield of the car, scanned the
FASTag radio frequency identification (RFID) using a smartwatch and then ran away. Since
then, this video has been doing rounds on the internet, claiming that FASTag technology
can be easily compromised. The video has shocked the viewers and has raised alarms in
many circles making fake claims.
After the “FASTag scam” video was widely circulated on social media platforms and had
come to the notice of concerned authorities, NPCI shared an official statement issued in the
public interest on Twitter. As clarified by the National Payments Corporation of India
(NPCI), the news about a child scanning a FASTag card using a smartwatch is baseless and
has no attribution.
NPCI assured the public that no transactions can be accomplished through open internet
activity. Only authorized merchants can make a payment request and deduct money from
bank accounts or Paytm wallets. NPCI also stated that there is no way a smartwatch can
scan a FASTag and siphon money from it, as the FASTag ecosystem is built on a four-party
model including NPCI, Toll Plaza, Issuer Bank, and Acquirer bank. There are many levels of
security protocols followed that ensure the end-to-end safe and secure processing of
transactions.
What does Paytm have to say?
Paytm has also said in a Twitter post the video spreading misinformation about Paytm
FASTag is fake. According to the guidelines issued by National Electronic Toll Collection
(NETC), their system for deducting toll plazas is foolproof. FASTag payments are
completely safe, as they can only be initiated by authorized merchants, and completed after
multiple rounds of testing.
The duo in the said video are aspiring actors
After the wide popularity of the video, everyone started to rationalize things. Later a page
called BakLol Video was found on Facebook, which has several videos starring the same
individuals. It appears that the FASTag scam video is fully scripted and was circulated as a
real incident. The video was purposely made for gaining popularity on the internet, and the
duo in the video are aspiring actors.
