Raksha Bandhan Scams Use Fake Gift Offers, Delivery Notices and Support Impersonation
Summary
The article details festival-themed phishing, fake shops, delivery-fee and UPI scams, and support impersonation, including reported victim losses. It advises verifying contacts and tracking through official channels, avoiding suspicious links, and never sharing OTPs or,
Key points
- Scams use Rakhi-themed messages, fake e-commerce sites, social media ads and delivery notices to steal payment information or induce fraudulent payments.
- Some phishing URLs use an "@" symbol to make a malicious destination appear associated with a trusted retailer.
- Fake gift-card campaigns have used multilingual messages and Mudra Yojana claims to prompt UPI transfers; the article identifies a suspected actor and related payment details.
- Reported cases include victims losing ₹8.20 lakh, ₹48,899 and ₹1.6 lakh through gift, customer-care and courier scams.
- Scammers may impersonate relatives or company support and request delivery fees, screen sharing, OTPs or payment approval.
- Verify offers and shipment notices through official sites and contact details; do not follow unsolicited links or approve unexpected UPI requests.
- Never share OTPs or PINs; report suspected fraud promptly to a bank, cybercrime.gov.in or helpline 1930.
Article Details
- Topic
- Raksha Bandhan-themed online scams, including phishing, fraudulent shopping offers, fake delivery notices, and UPI payment fraud
Indicators of compromise
| Type | Indicator | Context |
|---|---|---|
| DOMAIN | rakshabandhanofer[.]xyz | Domain impersonating Raksha Bandhan offers and hosting a phishing kit. |
| URL | hxxps[:]//rakshabandhanoffer[.]in[.]net/RakhiOff/ | Fraudulent website identified as mimicking an e-commerce platform to deceive visitors. |
Products
FacebookThrough threat hunting and OSINT efforts around "udayrajkiranastore", we discovered a Facebook profile belonging to a suspected threat actor named Shyam Saini. Interestingly, the same UPI payment code appears to haveFlipkartFake Customer Care Scam (Chandigarh, 2020): Priya, 24, ordered a ₹150 rakhi online from Flipkart.InstagramA fraudulent Instagram page is promoting the sale of the iPhone 16 Pro for just ₹599 under the guise of a Raksha Bandhan special offer.Paytmthe Mudra Yojana. Upon clicking the “Scratch Here” button, an intent-based UPI prompt opens apps like Paytm or PhonePe, allowing the user to directly transfer money to the scammer by simply entering a UPI code.PhonePeYojana. Upon clicking the “Scratch Here” button, an intent-based UPI prompt opens apps like Paytm or PhonePe, allowing the user to directly transfer money to the scammer by simply entering a UPI code.WhatsAppPhishing messages (emails/SMS/WhatsApp): Scammers send messages claiming “Your Rakhi gift is on the way” or advertise amazing Rakhi sale coupons. These usually contain malicious links or forms. For example, fraudsters