Mumbai: In an unprecedented effort to drive nationwide awareness on digital payment fraud, tgthr., in collaboration with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Times of India (TOI), launched the ‘Anti Scam Shala’ campaign at the Maha Kumbh—the world’s largest gathering, attended by over 65 crore devotees.
As millions of pilgrims converged for spiritual enlightenment, they also became potential targets for digital scams, making the Maha Kumbh a crucial touchpoint to educate the masses on safe digital transactions. The campaign leveraged the #ConmanVsCommonMan initiative by transforming its educational comic strips into newspaper pouches—widely used by local vendors—ensuring scam awareness messages reached people in their preferred language with every purchase.
Through sustainable newspaper bags, the campaign seamlessly embedded anti-scam lessons into everyday transactions. Whether purchasing agarbattis, diyas, bangles, or daily essentials, each transaction came with a vital message on UPI fraud prevention, reinforcing digital safety among millions of attendees.
Aalap Desai, CCO & Co-Founder, tgthr., shared the inspiration behind the initiative, stating, , “Newspaper bags are commonplace in India and quintessentially Indian. They are used everywhere, every single day, and their usage has increased significantly since the plastic ban in India and during the Maha Kumbh. While the Maha Kumbh is primarily about the holy dip in the Ganges, a lot happens around it—daily shopping for items ranging from incense sticks, flowers, and diyas to bangles and everyday essentials like soap and cream. One thing common in all these transactions is the newspaper bag, which is handed to the customer just before they make the payment. So, we thought of leveraging this common yet unique touchpoint and turning it into a learning opportunity. This idea gave birth to the Anti-Scam Shala.”
Reaffirming the commitment to secure digital transactions, Sameer Sainani, President of Optimal Media Solutions, added, “Maha Kumbh, the largest congregation of humanity, saw 65 crore people come together, making it an ideal platform to emphasise the safety of digital transactions. The Times of India’s iconic ‘Common Man’ became a symbol of vigilance through the Anti Scam Shala campaign. Paper carry bags with the digital safety message were placed at all points of sale, and millions of devotees were exposed to the digital safety message each time they purchased their puja wares at the Maha Kumbh, thereby reinforcing trust in UPI and digital payments and empowering millions to transact safely at Kumbh.
The Anti Scam Shala initiative reinforces our commitment towards promoting digital payments and their safety. TOI is extremely proud of this partnership with NPCI and tgthr. and is committed to the adoption of digital transactions in a safe environment.”
