One booked for hacking website, seeking donations for Himachal CM’s Relief Fund

An unknown person has been booked for allegedly hacking the official website of the state’s Department of Industries and using a fake webpage for seeking donations for the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The hacker had also provided a bank account number as well as a QR Code for receiving donations.

According to a complaint filed by Tilak Raj Sharma, Additional Director, Department of Industries, he got information about a webpage and a QR Code from an employee of EY, who, at present, is working with the Department of Industries.

He stated that the fake webpage, uploaded on July 26, displayed a QR Code linked to a bank account under the name Purav Maan with UPI ID: mann06\\\/@fam. “The Data Centre team acted swiftly and disabled the website on July 28 to prevent the misuse of other government websites and restored it the next day after implementing safety measures,” he added.

Sharma said, “During verification, one of the members of the EY team transferred Re 1 from his personal account using the QR Code displayed on the website. The transaction confirmed the UPI ID and the account holder’s details.”

The department was yet to ascertain how much money was deposited in the fraudster’s bank account between July 26 to 28, he added.