Fake accounts are stealing donations to the PM CARES Fund — Here's to how to keep from getting scammed

• Scammers have set up fake UPI addresses that exploit common spelling mistakes to divert donations from the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund.
  
• The only legitimate UPI account to make your contribution is pmcares@sbi.
  
• However, false accounts like pmcare@sbi and pmcaree@sbi have been spotted trying to fool donors.
  

Last week Prime Minister Modi asked citizens to help in the fight against Coronavirus by donating to the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund — and many stepped up.


However, with so many contributions flowing in from all over the country, scammers are on the prowl looking to fool people into sending money to the wrong account. By switching a letter or exploiting common spelling mistakes, fake accounts look like they’re the real thing. One such account blocked by the Delhi cybercrime unit was pmcare@sbi — instead of the legit pmcares@sbi.


The fake UPI was brought to the attention of the State Bank of India (SBI), which immediately alerted the relevant authorities. Another fake account by the name of pmcaree@sbi was also spotted making the rounds.

Cyber threats during the Coronavirus
Creating near-identical UPI IDs to try and fool people into sending their money to the wrong account is only one of the many threats out there.


With so many people under lockdown with only the internet as a means to get information, other aspects of the internet as also being exploited — including emails, domain names and fake applications.


There’s a surge of online traffic looking for constant updates and news about the Coronavirus pandemic — and the bad guys know it.

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