• By Aalok Sensharma
  • Mon, 30 Mar 2020 09:35 AM (IST)
  • Source:JND
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New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: The Delhi Police’s cybercrime unit on Sunday detected a fake Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ID of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund to fight the novel coronavirus in the country.

DCP (cybercrime) Anyesh Roy said that the fake UPI was created with the ID pmcare@sbi, which is similar to the correct ID pmcares@sbi. The police said that fake UPI ID was highlighted by twitter user @bishwesh0604.

“Please note, the correct UPI ID of PM CARES Fund is pmcares@sbi Thanks to alert citizen @bishwesh0604 for getting a fake UPI ID pmcare@sbi blocked. Legal action has been initiated,” the Delhi Police tweeted.

The twitter user Bishwesh had shared the screenshot of the fake relief fund UPI ID on twitter on Saturday and had asked the Delhi Police and the State Bank of India (SBI) to take necessary actions.

The Delhi Police said that it has started an investigation into the matter and is in the process of identifying the person who created the fake UPI ID and whether any fund has been transferred into it.

The police further said that a first information report (FIR) will be registered accordingly while adding that the SBI has also been briefed about the fake ID and the bank has blocked it.

The Delhi Police has also urged people to be aware about such fake UPI ID and has released a list of ‘potential dangerous’ domains that claim to provide details of the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

“People should exercise caution while handling mails and links about the pandemic. Cyber security firms have reported that criminals are using COVID-19 pandemic to spread malware, launch spear-phishing campaigns and launch business email compromise attacks,” a police official said, as quoted by Times of India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday had announced the creation of an assistance and emergency situation relief fund where people can contribute and help in the government's fight against coronavirus.

The Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund will go a long way in creating a healthier India, he said on Twitter.