While the police force is out rescuing the stranded citizens of the flood-hit Kerala, the cyber team is curbing the fake messages that are going around.
The latest fake message doing the rounds is one purportedly from the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF), urging to donate liberally to some personal bank account numbers.
The message has been mainly spread through WhatsApp.
The findings by the high-tech cell will be handed over to the cyber cell police station.
Not just fake messages, but a fake bank account too attempted to collect funds in the name of Kerala Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund, only to be busted.
The fraudulent account with number 20025290179, claiming to be the bank based in Trivandrum has been shared widely on social media.
However, a rudimentary search based on the IFSC code traced the bank to be located in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu.
An SBI spokesperson said: “That account is a fake account, which has already been blocked. No transactions can happen now. There are hardly some Rs 2,000-Rs 3,000 in the account. There were no withdrawals from it. We are deliberating on what to do with the money in the account.”
Those who wish to deposit money, verify the bank account and numbers before making the donations.
READ ALSO: Flood-Hit Kerala Faces Robbery In Relief Camps; Government Officials Arrested
In fact, the Chief Minister’s office has also cautioned people against misinformation since some fraudulent messages/posters with altered CMDRF account numbers have been spotted and has instructed Police to take stringent measures against cyber offenders.
Kerala is striving together as a fraternity to overcome the catastrophic flood. However, we have noticed that some are trying to malign this great effort with misinformation in the form of fake messages on social media. #KeralaFloods pic.twitter.com/1dVXF0gyot
— CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) August 20, 2018
For Bank Counter Payment
Beneficiary Name: Principal Secretary (Fin), Treasurer CMDRF
Bank Name: State Bank of India (SBI)
Account Number: 67319948232
Branch: City Branch, Thiruvananthapuram
IFSC : SBIN0070028
For offline Contribution: Cheque/Demand Draft can be drawn in the favour of Principal Secretary (Finance), Treasurer CMDRF, payable at Thiruvananthapuram. The same may be posted/mailed to the following address:
Principal Secretary (Finance)
Treasurer CMDRF
Secretariat, Thiruvananthapuram – 695 001
For Donations Via CMDRF Link: https://donation.cmdrf.kerala.gov.in/
Donations made to the CMDRF are exempt of Income Tax. Besides, making donations through SBI, donations could be made through Unified Payments Interface like like Paytm, BHIM, Tez, PhonePe.
Earlier this week, Aswin Babu, a teenager from Nenmara in Palakkad district, was arrested for sharing a fake audio clip that claimed that the Mullapperiyar dam had been damaged in the flood. Police said Aswin shared the clip created by someone else. Police are yet to identify the original sender.
The verification process of another voice clip, dissuading people from sending relief material to Kerala, is also on.
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