Government sources warn that cyber criminals are targeting Ram Mandir devotees with fake websites and apps.

Central agencies involved in the fight against cybercrime have seen an increase in frauds trying to cash in on the Ayodhya Ram Mandir fervor, with fraudsters swindling substantial funds. The agencies have detected the activity of numerous fraudulent websites asking for donations, and new apps have been created that promote playing the Ram theme for money. These communities utilize payment gateways of fake domains using QR codes.

Government sources said the central network complaint number is receiving increasing calls indicating this trend and the number of swipes is yet to be estimated. In addition, new games and multimedia messages have been released to capture the audience, they added.

According to the latest analysis conducted last week, the agencies have found widespread spread of viral content posing as Ram Mandir accounts on social media platforms.

The modus operandi involves scammers duping users under the guise of a temple in Ayodhya. It has also come to light that several fake websites claim to be collecting funds in the name of Ram Mandir.

“These sites offer fake services such as providing funds, donations, prashad booking, VIP darshan access and travel assistance. They often use payment gateways or aggregators with fake domains using QR codes. Recommendations have been issued to take action against such sites, apps and content against,” the official said.

The government has asked payment gateways to pay attention to possible fraud and to perform enhanced due diligence checks before starting merchants. In addition, they have been advised to monitor the merchant’s activities during and after boarding.

“It is also recommended to do mystery shopping with a larger sample size and report suspicious activity to the appropriate authorities. Based on these findings, the Ministry of the Interior has given recommendations to the Ministry of Information Technology to implement appropriate measures. This action is necessary to prevent the spread of harmful narratives and maintain social harmony,” an official told ReturnByte.