Authorities in India are warning citizens to exercise extreme caution ahead of the Diwali festival
The Cyber Crime Unit of the Hyderabad City Police has issued an urgent advisory after noting a significant surge in online scams designed to capitalise on the high volume of festive spending. Fraudsters are reportedly leveraging the rush for gifts and gadgets by creating an array of deceptive traps, including bogus e-commerce portals, convincing phishing links, and fraudulent social media advertisements promising unattainable deep discounts.
According to police analysis, the criminals are using social engineering to bypass consumer vigilance. A primary tactic involves sending links through popular messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, or via SMS, dangling the lure of “exclusive festival rewards” or heavy price reductions.
“Once victims open these phishing pages or are persuaded to download attached malicious APK files, malware is quietly installed on their mobile devices,” a police spokesperson noted. “This grants the criminals remote access, allowing them to steal critical banking credentials, one-time passwords (OTPs), and other stored personal information, leading to heavy financial losses.”
Human cost of festive fraud
The warning comes as multiple victims report significant losses. In one case, a 29-year-old woman in Secunderabad was duped out of RS 1,40,000 by callers posing as executives from a shopping site. She was convinced to make multiple payments for “dispatch and tax charges” to claim a supposedly won iPhone 13 that never materialised.
In a separate, equally alarming incident, a 69-year-old Azampura resident lost RS 1,02,194 after searching for customer care details online. He was directed to a fake contact number for a delivery service, and then persuaded by the fraudster to install a remote access APK link, allowing the criminals to drain money from his family’s bank accounts. Another common ruse involves notifying recipients they have “won a Diwali gift” and then demanding a small “processing fee” or “GST” to claim the phantom prize, which then leads to the theft of much larger sums.
Authorities have stressed that citizens often fall prey by blindly trusting visually appealing online ads or downloading unverified applications.
To combat this widespread digital exploitation, the police have urged consumers to adopt stringent security measures:
Never install applications from unknown or untrusted sources.
Always verify a shopping site’s legitimacy before making payments.
Refrain from clicking suspicious links or responding to unsolicited messages promising gifts or rewards.
Enable two-factor authentication across all banking and e-commerce accounts for an essential layer of defence.
The Cyber Crime Unit has stressed that prompt reporting is crucial to intercepting fraudulent transactions, advising victims to immediately contact the National Cyber Crime Helpline, 1930, or file a complaint online at www.cybercrime.gov.in.
