Stay safeFor sellers5 min read

How to sell your phone safely

Wipe your data, remove accounts, sell to a real shop, get a written record and avoid OTP and UPI scams. A safety checklist for selling a used phone in India.

In short

Back up, sign out of your accounts, take out the SIM and memory card, then factory reset before the phone leaves your hands.
Sell to a shop with a real address, and leave with a written record that shows the IMEI and the price.
You never need your UPI PIN to receive money, and the only OTP a sale needs is the one that confirms your own number.

01Clear the phone first

01
Back up
Save photos, contacts and files to your Google account, iCloud or a computer. Back up WhatsApp separately, from inside the app.
02
Move the apps that guard money and logins
Move authenticator apps to your new phone, and remove this phone from your UPI and banking apps.
03
Sign out of your accounts
On Android, remove your Google account, plus your Samsung or Xiaomi account if you have one. On iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, then tap Sign Out and enter your Apple Account password. This turns off Find My and Activation Lock.
04
Take out the SIM and memory card
Check the tray twice. If you use an eSIM, move it to your new phone first, and choose to remove it when you erase the old one.
05
Factory reset
Do this last. On iPhone, go to Settings > General, tap Transfer or Reset iPhone, then Erase All Content and Settings. On Android the menu differs by brand, and the factory reset guide covers the common ones.
06
Check it worked
Switch the phone on and go a few screens into setup, connecting to Wi-Fi but not signing in. If it asks for your old Google account or Apple Account to continue, an account is still attached. Sign out properly and reset again.

02Sell to a real shop

The shop has a fixed address and a name you can look up.
The phone is inspected in front of you, not taken away to a back room.
The price is agreed before anything is recorded.
You are paid in full before you leave, and you have checked that the money arrived.
You get a written record of the sale.

03Insist on a written record

A record protects you if the phone is ever questioned later. It shows that the phone left your hands on a certain date, at a certain shop.

A good record shows

The shop's name and address
Your name and mobile number
The phone's make, model and IMEI
The agreed price and how it was paid
The date of the sale

At a Recashy partner shop, the record gets a number like RC-000123 and is locked once filed, so it cannot be changed later. Write the number down or take a photo of it, and keep it.

04One OTP, for your own sale only

Shops that use Recashy confirm your mobile number with a one-time code (OTP) sent to your own phone. You read it out or type it in at the counter, for that sale only.

That code only proves that the number you gave is yours. It is not a payment code. It does not approve a payment, and it cannot move money in or out of your account.

Never share a code that

Comes from your bank, a UPI app or a wallet
Is for logging in to WhatsApp, email, Google, Apple or social media
Is for a SIM change, a new SIM or porting your number
Is for Aadhaar or DigiLocker
Arrives when you did not ask for anything

05UPI: how a real payment looks

UPI is a quick way to be paid. One rule covers most UPI scams: your UPI PIN is needed only to send money, never to receive it. NPCI, which runs UPI, says the same.

If anyone asks you to enter your UPI PIN to receive money, it is a scam. Entering the PIN sends money out of your account.
Scanning a QR code is for paying, not for getting paid. If a buyer sends you a QR code to collect your money, do not scan it.
A payment request in your UPI app asks you to pay, not to receive. NPCI ordered person-to-person collect requests to stop from 1 October 2025, but merchants can still send requests, so read every request before you approve anything.
Never tell anyone your UPI PIN, including the shop.
Check the money in your own bank app or bank SMS. A screenshot on someone else's phone is not a payment.

With cash, count it before you hand over the phone. With a bank transfer, wait until it shows in your account.

06After the sale

Keep the record number and any receipt somewhere safe.
Check that the phone no longer appears in your Google account's device list or in Find My, and remove it if it does.
Remove the old phone from any smartwatch, earbuds or car it was paired with.