The Kerala Police have issued a comprehensive public advisory cautioning citizens against a widespread cyber financial fraud network operating across the WhatsApp messaging platform. In an official report from Thiruvananthapuram, authorities warned that sophisticated cybercriminals are systematically exploiting the established names, trademarks, and logos of leading dairy product companies and other highly reputed business brands to deceive individuals.
The fraudsters are circulating deceptive promotional messages that falsely claim to offer attractive rewards such as “Anniversary Gifts,” “Free Gifts,” and similar incentives, with the ultimate objective of siphoning off the victims’ money and securing their highly sensitive personal data.
Fraudulent Websites Mimic Corporate Portals
According to the police advisory, the scam initiates through a WhatsApp message embedded with a malicious hyperlink configured to look like an official connection to a well-known commercial brand. When users interact with the link, they are automatically redirected to an unauthorized clone website meticulously designed to replicate the targeted company’s genuine web portal, making it incredibly difficult for unsuspecting users to distinguish it from an authentic corporate platform.
Once visitors log onto the fraudulent platform, they are prompted to participate in a brief survey, answering a few simple questions regarding the business and its products. Following the questionnaire, a simulated “Scratch and Win” sequence is presented to falsely notify users that they have qualified for an attractive prize. This entire multi-stage engagement is purposefully engineered to manipulate user psychology and convince the target that the promotional campaign is entirely genuine.
Registration Begins for FutureCrime Summit 2026, India’s Largest Cybercrime Conference
Viral Tactic Exploits Trusted Social Contacts
To claim the non-existent reward, the digital interface instructs the victim that they must forward the identical message to their friends or into multiple active WhatsApp groups. Law enforcement officials noted that this specific tactic leverages private social trust, allowing the campaign to achieve viral velocity across a massive pool of prospective targets while lending a false sense of institutional credibility to the scam.
The security advisory strongly warns that interacting with these specific links can entirely compromise a user’s mobile device security architecture. Cybercriminals can gain full remote control of the compromised phone, steal confidential banking details, intercept transactional one-time passwords (OTPs), and misuse other sensitive data to secure unauthorized access to bank accounts and fraudulently withdraw money.
Dairy Cooperative Initiates Formal Legal Action
Meanwhile, the Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (KCMMF), widely known by its established brand name Milma, has independently issued a consumer notice regarding a fraudulent message titled “Milma’s annual celebration gift” circulating in regional WhatsApp groups. Milma, which has operated as a trusted brand in Kerala for 46 years, utilized its verified social media channels to alert the public against clicking the malicious web address.
The dairy cooperative confirmed that it has filed a formal police complaint regarding the trademark misuse and has initiated separate legal proceedings to completely take down the active scam links. The Kerala Police have urged anyone who falls victim to this financial trap to report the event immediately by dialing the National Cyber Crime Helpline at 1930 or submitting transaction details directly to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at www.cybercrime.gov.in, as prompt reporting significantly improves the chances of preventing further financial loss.
