The Indian government has warned the public to be vigilant against fraudsters after distancing itself from text messages perceived to be from the popular show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) telling recipients they have won a lottery prize.
As reported by The Free Press Journal, the scheme sent out messages to large amounts of potential victims claiming they had won ₹25.
Reacting to noise on social media, the Press Information Bureau fact-checking team issued a statement clarifying that the scheme was a scam and had no connection to the central government.
NDTV reported that ‘The PIB also provided a link to Delhi Police’s Cyber Cell in its Instagram handle that offered more details about the “KBC Lottery Frauds” and asked people to follow some precautions when dealing with such claims.’
The Mumbai Police took to social media to warn users not to respond to any text messages claiming to be from the KBC lottery.
Responding to one user, the Police stated: “Don’t entertain such messages. They may be fraudsters. (We) request you to report the matter at your nearest police station for necessary action.”
It comes at a time when lottery fraud appears to be on the rise. In the UK, data from Action Fraud has detailed that almost £1m has been stolen by lottery fraudsters over the last seven months.