Kerala Police has issued a notice to Google to remove apps from its Play Store that are selling fake lotteries online. The State Police Media Center (SPMC) said on Wednesday that a similar notice has been issued to Meta. They have been asked to remove advertisements of such fake lotteries from social media platforms Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, which are banned.
SPMC has said that cyber patrolling revealed that 60 fake lottery apps, 25 fake Facebook profiles and 20 websites are linked to the online scam. Strict legal action will be taken against those behind this fraud. Fake advertisements in the name of ‘Kerala Megamillion Lottery’ and ‘Kerala Summer Season Dhamaka’ have been circulating on WhatsApp, Telegram and Instagram for some time.
It said that the state government-run lottery can be purchased online. People also receive messages on their phones saying that the Kerala government has launched an online lottery and there is a chance to win up to Rs 12 crore by spending Rs 40. When a person sends Rs 40 to the number given in the message, he gets an image of a fake lottery ticket on WhatsApp.
After this, a fake draw is shown and a person is claimed to have won Rs 5 lakh. Then a fraudster pretending to be a government representative calls the person and asks him to transfer a certain amount to the bank account for GST and stamp duty to receive the prize money. After receiving the money, money is again demanded by deceiving him.
In this way, people are cheated online. After receiving many such complaints, the cyber police has sent a notice to Google and Meta, so that misleading advertisements being shown on their platforms can be stopped and people can be saved from being cheated. The police has also urged people to avoid becoming victims of such online lottery scams.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)