Coronavirus donation scam: Fake ‘PM CARES’ links can fool Indians, say cyber police officials

According to the Maharashtra cyber police wing, hackers and online fraudsters are using fake links for PM Narendra Modi's 'PM CARES' fund to dupe Indians. PM CARES or the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund is an online coronavirus donation fund setup to help people and authorities curb the spread and provide medical assistance.

The cyber police officials have added that several such links have so far been traced and disabled. They are also asking citizens to use the authentic link which is pmcares@sbi to donate funds. So far, Maharashtra Cyber police has registered 78 cases during the 21-day lockdown for online misinformation on the coronavirus outbreak, reports PTI.

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Out of these 78 cases, eight are in Mumbai while six each are in Pune Rural and Satara district. Five of each are reported in Beed and Nashik Rural, while four each are reported in Nagpur, Nashik city, Thane and Kolhapur.

As per the report, one case in Malegaon in Nashik led to the arrest of three individuals who were making a Tiktok video with a communal angle to the outbreak.

In Mumbai, two persons were booked for a communal post on Facebook, while in Dongri in the south of the metropolis, some people gathered in violation of lockdown orders after a fake news was circulated through Whatsapp, he said.

With inputs from PTI.