What export payment frauds target Indian exporters, and how do you report them?

Exporters are targeted because they expect money from strangers abroad, often through several apps and platforms, and they deliver work before or soon after being paid. A video editor chasing a new client, a tutor selling sessions to overseas parents and a small IT firm onboarding its first US customer all face the same patterns. This guide describes the common frauds, the official rules that help you spot them, and where to report.

What is export payment fraud for Indian exporters?

Export payment fraud is any scheme that uses a cross-border payment to take money or work from an Indian exporter, and the common patterns leave a recognisable trail.⁵⁷⁸⁹ The table lists each fraud with the rule or fact that helps you spot it.

Each pattern depends on you acting before the money is final, so slowing down is the first defence.

Who does export payment fraud target?

Export payment fraud targets anyone in India who receives money from abroad, and the exposure depends on how you get paid.⁵⁷⁹ The table maps each kind of exporter to the fraud it meets most often in this guide and the check that suits it.

Every exporter faces at least one of these patterns, whatever the size of the business.

How do you report an export payment fraud in India?

You report an export payment fraud on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in) or the national helpline 1930, as quickly as possible.¹ The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs says its Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System connects banks, payment intermediaries and wallets with the cybercrime portal.¹

1. Call 1930 or file at cybercrime.gov.in with transaction IDs, account details and messages.¹
2. Tell your bank and the payment platform, and ask them to block or recall the transaction.
3. If your email or systems were hacked, contact CERT-In, the national agency for responding to computer security incidents.²
4. If your bank does not resolve your complaint within 30 days, or you are not satisfied, approach the RBI Ombudsman at cms.rbi.org.in.¹⁰

Keep screenshots, emails and invoices. For payments that are simply delayed, see international payment stuck.

What deadlines and records apply to export payment fraud?

The key time limits for export payment fraud are the 120-day card dispute window and the 30-day bank reply period before you can go to the RBI Ombudsman.¹⁰¹¹

Keep every record until the longest of these windows has passed.

What happens if you fall for an export payment fraud?

If you fall for an export payment fraud, the usual result is that the payment is taken back after you have delivered work or sent your own money.⁷⁸

• Stolen card: Visa's fraud category covers a cardholder who says they did not authorise or take part in an online transaction.⁷ PayPal's India user agreement says a payment can be reversed if it was unauthorised, or if a buyer's card chargeback is not eligible for Seller Protection.⁸
• Overpayment refund: the original payment can be reversed after you have sent the "excess" from your own account.⁵⁸
• Receiving for others: your AD bank credits export proceeds only after satisfying itself that the transaction is genuine, so a forwarded payment can put your account under question.⁹

For example, a designer who delivers a logo to a new client paying by card, and later sees a fraud dispute, loses both the fee and the work. For how to respond to a dispute, see the chargeback guide.

How do you check that a payment platform is genuine?

You check a payment platform by finding the operating company on RBI's published lists before you share documents or give clients its account details.³⁴ RBI publishes the list of authorised payment aggregators, including cross-border ones (PA-CB), last dated 16 October 2026, and a separate status list of pending applications that states whether each applicant can operate.³⁴

• Authorised list: look for the company on RBI's payment aggregator list dated 16 October 2026.³
• Pending applications: RBI's status list says an in-principle authorisation is not itself an authorisation.⁴
• Partner banks: some legitimate providers work through partner banks or other arrangements and are not on the PA-CB list, so ask which regulated entity holds the money and issues your FIRA.
• Crypto settlement: RBI has cautioned that virtual currencies are not authorised by any central bank and offer no established process for disputes or chargebacks.⁶

See how to check an RBI-authorised payment aggregator for the full steps.

What are the common mistakes with export payment fraud?

The common mistakes with export payment fraud are acting on urgency, refunding outside the payment provider and lending your account to someone else.⁵⁷⁹

• Ignoring warning signs: a new client who wants urgent work, pays more than asked, uses several cards, or gives a billing country that does not match their story. Visa's guide recommends 3-D Secure authentication, address and CVV2 checks.⁷
• Refunding to another account: the RBI Master Direction on Regulation of Payment Aggregator says all refunds go to the original method of payment, unless the payer asks for an alternate mode that belongs to the same payer.⁵ A refund to a different person's account, or by gift card or crypto, does not fit how a regulated refund works.
• Paying a release fee: never pay a "release fee" to receive money you are owed.
• Forwarding money: payment aggregators must make sure merchant funds are credited only to the merchant's own bank account, and third-party receipts need AD bank permission under the 2026 Regulations.⁵⁹ See third-party payments for exports for when a legitimate third-party payment is allowed.

If a client genuinely overpaid, refund through the same provider and keep the record.