Fake online Kerala lottery sale; police sends notice to Google to remove 60 apps

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala police have issued a notice to Google to remove apps which promote fake online sales of the Kerala lottery. Meta has also been issued a notice to remove advertisements of such apps. Cyber patrolling by police uncovered 60 fake online lottery apps. 25 fake Facebook profiles and 20 websites were also detected.

Advertisements with titles like 'Kerala mega million lottery' and 'Kerala summer Ssason dhamaka,' which promised sale of Kerala state lottery online, were being circulated on Whatsapp, Telegram and Instagram. The user would receive a message saying that the Kerala government has started an online lottery and if you could spend Rs 40 you could win Rs 12 crores.

When Rs 40 is sent to the number, a doctored image of the Kerala lottery is sent via Whatsapp. Once the draw is over, the tampered results are sent to the user. The image of the ticket would match the number that won Rs 5 lakhs, a press note issued by Kerala police said.

In the next stage, a caller would introduce himself as the representative of the government and say that if the prize money has to be credited, one has to transfer some money for GST and stamp duty. When this money is sent, the caller would say that the prize money has been withheld by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and they would demand more money to clear the mess. Fake documents and videos will be furnished at each stage to lend credence to the story.

The cops have communicated that anyone being subjected to such fraud shall contact 1930 for police intervention.