Ganesh Chaturthi Scams Target Shoppers With Fake Offers, Tickets and Payment Requests
Summary
The article explains how scammers exploit Ganesh Chaturthi with fake shops, prizes, event passes, delivery alerts and payment requests, and shares precautions for avoiding fraud. CloudSek also identifies fraudulent shopping sites and social media ads.
Key points
- Scammers use fake idol and sweets sellers, social media stores, lottery offers and event tickets to steal money or personal information.
- Fraudulent ads and websites impersonate retailers, promote steep discounts and may redirect shoppers to scam-controlled pages such as thekitstore[.]in and sale-bigdeal[.]site.
- Fake delivery alerts may direct victims to malicious links or impostor support, while gift messages and QR codes can trick users into approving UPI payments.
- The article recounts reported festival-related fraud cases involving online purchases, contribution requests and a virtual darshan app.
- Shop through official sites or verified sellers, check URLs, and independently verify delivery alerts and customer-support contacts.
- Do not share OTPs or PINs, approve unexpected UPI collect requests, or trust urgent prize or payment requests without verification.
- Report suspected fraud promptly to a bank and India’s National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal or helpline 1930.
Article Details
- Topic
- Online and in-person scams exploiting Ganesh Chaturthi offers, shopping, donations, event tickets, delivery alerts, and virtual darshan.
Indicators of compromise
| Type | Indicator | Context |
|---|---|---|
| URL | hxxps[:]//sale-bigdeal[.]site/website?fbclid=IwY2xjawMaR_lleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFCa0lHQU1Qbm5Ba1h6QmpzAR5eG5C9dkRKZ7qLPBM1c0Z7MSboYJ-O4q5MAIaEiSocb9LV7hhgxRTvRkjm1Q_aem_xTSe0apFak4L51zxrCH5cQ | Fraudulent website reached through a social media ad; identified as a phishing site listing items at deceptive sale prices. |
| URL | hxxps[:]//thekitstore[.]in | Fraudulent e-commerce website identified as designed to deceive and defraud visitors. |
Products
Google Paynever arrived. When he followed up, the scammer convinced him to enter a “code” (actually ₹29,875) into Google Pay, Tricking the victim out of a total of ₹1.38 lakh. His friend also transferred ₹45,000 for a promisedPhonePein exchange for permission to run the mela, the committee demanded ₹3 lakh in cash and ₹2.85 lakh via PhonePe (totaling ₹5.85 lakh) and then denied him the right to organize it. A police complaint has been filed. Shopifylegitimate e-commerce platform, is luring users with a Ganesh Chaturthi offer. The scammers have used a Shopify template that displays a countdown timer, creating a false sense of urgency and pressuring users intoWhatsApp Messengerits linked Facebook page, we noticed it was recently created and redirects visitors directly to WhatsApp Messenger. This raises red flags, as it provides scammers an easy way to engage in social engineering against