If you own a shop front, a ground-floor room or a plot on a busy road, you may have seen an advert or received a call offering a large monthly rent for installing an ATM. Most of these offers are fake. They follow the same pattern every time, and once you know it they are easy to spot.
How the scam works
- The bait. A website, social media ad or SMS promises ₹40,000–₹80,000 a month in rent plus a “commission” on every transaction, often using the logo of a well-known bank or ATM brand.
- The approval. You fill in a form and are “selected” within a day, with an official-looking approval letter on letterhead.
- The fees. Before installation you are asked to pay a registration fee, then a “security deposit”, then an “NOC charge” or “RBI clearance fee”. Each payment is followed by a new one.
- The disappearance. Once you stop paying or ask for a refund, the phone numbers go dead.
The warning signs
- Any upfront payment. Genuine operators pay you rent; they do not charge you to become a site.
- “RBI approval” or “RBI NOC” fees. The RBI authorises ATM operators, not individual property owners. There is no RBI certificate for hosting an ATM.
- Payment to a personal account or UPI ID instead of a company account.
- Gmail or similar free email addresses and websites that are not the company’s official domain.
- Pressure: “only two slots left in your area”, “pay today or lose the site”.
How genuine ATM site deals happen
Banks and white-label operators choose locations from their own surveys of footfall, competition and security. A real operator sends its own staff to inspect the space, signs a lease agreement with you, and pays rent by bank transfer after installation. Electricity is usually metered and reimbursed. At no stage do you pay them.
How to verify an offer
- Find the company’s official website yourself through a search, not from the link in the ad, and use the phone number published there.
- India1 Payments, for example, publishes a dedicated number for checking installation offers made in its name: 080-43574400. It states that it does not ask site owners for money.
- For a bank, visit a branch and ask the manager whether the offer is real.
If you have already paid
Report it immediately: call the national cybercrime helpline 1930 or file at cybercrime.gov.in. The faster you report, the better the chance the money can be frozen before it is withdrawn. Keep screenshots of the ads, chats, payment receipts and the “approval letter”. Also inform your bank about the transfers.
White-label ATMs and the companies behind them are explained in what is an India1 ATM.
Common questions
Do banks ever advertise ATM sites on social media?
Banks and operators sometimes invite property offers on their official websites, but they do not ask for fees and they do not promise fixed monthly earnings in ads.
The letter has a GST number and a stamp. Does that prove it is real?
No. Letterheads, stamps and registration numbers are easy to copy. Only the company’s own published contact details can confirm an offer.
Can I get my money back?
Sometimes, if you report quickly and the money is still in the receiving account. Delay makes recovery much less likely.
Last checked: October 2026. If an offer uses Tekdroip’s name, it is fake too: this site lists ATMs and does not install them.
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