As millions prepare to celebrate Raksha Bandhan, cybersecurity experts are warning that fraudsters are capitalising on the festive shopping rush with elaborate scams. Threat intelligence firm Cloudsek has recorded a significant rise in phishing campaigns, fake e-commerce sites, and delivery-themed frauds designed to deceive gift buyers.
From Phishing Links to Fake Gift Offers
Criminals are exploiting Raksha Bandhan’s emotional appeal with scams ranging from bogus courier alerts to counterfeit online sales. Fraudulent messages often claim a Rakhi parcel is delayed due to incomplete addresses, urging recipients to click links and pay “re-delivery” charges. Clicking these links can install malware or capture banking credentials.
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New phishing tactics involve URLs designed to appear legitimate by placing well-known brand names before the “@” symbol, redirecting users to malicious sites. Investigations have uncovered scam pages mimicking popular e-commerce platforms and advertising suspiciously low-priced products, such as a fake iPhone 16 Pro “Rakhi special” for ₹599.
Gift card frauds have also proliferated, some posing as government schemes like the Prime Minister’s Mudra Yojana. Victims are lured with “₹5,000 Rakhi gift cards” and tricked into making UPI transfers directly to scammer-controlled accounts.
Real Cases and Safety Measures
Recent cases show the human cost of these scams. In Mumbai, a woman paid ₹8.20 lakh in “customs and delivery fees” to a fraudster posing as a brother abroad. In Bengaluru, an Air Force cook lost ₹1.6 lakh after entering details on a fake courier link. Chandigarh police recorded a case in which a customer lost nearly ₹50,000 to imposters posing as Flipkart and bank representatives.
Experts recommend sticking to verified shopping apps, carefully checking URLs, avoiding suspicious links, and never sharing OTPs or banking credentials. When tracking parcels, use only official courier websites. For UPI transactions, double-check the recipient’s details and reject unsolicited payment requests. Authorities urge citizens to report suspicious activity to India’s National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in) or call 1930. Public awareness, they stress, remains the strongest defence.
As Raksha Bandhan approaches, the festival’s joy is best preserved by staying alert online. If a deal or delivery message looks too good to be true, it probably is.