# Kerala Police warns against fake festival sale offers online 2026-10-11T04:11:13+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Keralam police on Saturday, 10 October 2026, warned people about fake festival sale offers and online shopping scams, urging them to verify website links and avoid sharing banking and payment details on suspicious platforms. In a statement, police advised shoppers to check the spelling of website addresses, noting fraudulent sites often use names with minor variations to resemble popular shopping platforms. They cautioned against messages offering unrealistic discounts and free gifts, and advised avoiding purchases through links received via WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS or social media. Police said people should make purchases only through official apps or by typing the website address directly into a browser, and check for “https://” and a padlock symbol. They warned against sharing bank, card or UPI details on unfamiliar websites, and never sharing one-time passwords (OTPs). Victims of online fraud should call the cybercrime helpline at 1930 or file a complaint at www.cybercrime.gov.in. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The advisory targets the surge in festive-season online fraud, which often spikes as shoppers seek deals. By naming specific platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram and warning against fake customer care calls, the police are addressing the most common entry points for scams. The key step left for the public is to use the helpline 1930 or the government portal if cheated, which the statement itself provides as the concrete recourse. ## Coverage - theprint.in Straight PTI news agency copy with no added commentary or slant This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: cybercrime, Kerala Police, online shopping scams Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/kerala-police-warns-against-fake-festival-sale-offers-online/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/kerala-police-warns-against-fake-festival-sale-offers-online/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/