Kottayam: The rise in online sales of counterfeit lottery tickets has caught the attention of authorities after a Karnataka native was scammed by a fake 'Kerala Online Lottery' website.
After the person bought the ticket from the site, he was told he had won Rs 5 lakh. He contacted a lottery agent in Kottayam with the details provided on a different website and shared a copy of the ticket via WhatsApp. 

Upon reviewing the ticket, the lottery agency realised that the individual had been duped and reported it to the district lottery office.

MB Manoj, a lottery agent in Nattassery, said that the Karnataka resident had him called to inquire about the prize. "He bought the ticket under the impression that it was a state lottery run by the Kerala government. The details have been forwarded to the District Lottery Office," Manoj said.

According to the website, the purported ticket seller is identified as Jithendra Chauhan, listed with a Thiruvananthapuram address at the University of Kerala Senate House Campus, Palayam. The fake tickets are priced at Rs 49 each, offering a first prize of Rs 50 lakh, a second prize of Rs 25 lakh, and other prizes ranging from Rs 12 lakh to Rs 50,000.

The Directorate of Kerala State Lotteries said that no websites have been authorised to sell lottery tickets online and that this particular fraud had not yet come to its attention.