Dehradun (Uttarakhand): While the nation is united in the fight against the deadly coronavirus and people are responding to the Prime Minister's appeal for donation to the PM Relief fund through its State Bank of India account, cyber criminals are swindling people by creating fake bank accounts.
Cautioning people about this racket, SBI officials stated that the Government of India has created only one account to receive digital payment with the ID 'pmcares@sbi' and no other account. SBI's investment advisor has appealed to the people to bring to the notice of SBI officials or the local police in case they come across any other account for which donation is being solicited.
According to SBI officials, cybercriminals and fraudsters have created fake IDs similar to the original one and opened accounts in various other banks to swindle the people who want to donate to the Prime Minister's relief fund. SBI officials cautioned the people to first verify the authenticity of the PM relief fund's official account before making donations through digital payment gateway to ensure that their money does not land into the wrong hands.
Read: Don't let your guard down!
The following should be kept in my before making payment through the digital gateway: According to SBI's investment advisor Jitendra Kumar Dadona, the Government of India has a website, cert.in which is for computer emergency response. It has been noticed that some fake IDs have been made in the names of some banks by using UPI code to divert funds in the name of PM Relief Fund. He said besides alerting the public, the SBI has also alerted the civil and cyber police against this.
What does cyber police say
According to Dehradun cyber police CO Ankush Mishra, the racket is operating by making fake IDs with UPI to swindle people who want to donate to the PM Relief Fund. Police have mounted a hunt to track down the cybercriminals who are out to harm the economic interest of the country in times of a severe crisis. He advised the people to first verify with the local police, cyber police or officials of central and state governments before making any donation.
According to Ankush Mishra, the Uttarakhand cyber police has shared on its official Facebook page information about all websites, IDs and other related information by which fraudsters were misguiding people. The cyber police has also cautioned the public against fraudsters operating in the name of PM Relief Fund.
