Fake flood relief appeals circulate on social media in Punjab, scamsters exploit crisis

As Punjab battles floods, scamsters have begun exploiting the crisis by circulating fake appeals for donations on social media.

Several social media users have raised alarms about accounts soliciting money under the pretext of flood relief.

An X user, Ankit Bansal, cautioned the public to verify the genuineness of organisations before donating. He claimed that some NRIs had unknowingly donated to an Instagram page run by a man named Satnam Singh, which has since been deleted. The contact number provided is also reportedly inactive.

Another X user, A Sidhu, shared a screenshot of a message she received seeking Rs 80,000 for flood relief. The sender, allegedly from a person in Tarn Taran district, claimed his village had been submerged and urgently sought money for food, water, and shelter for the villagers.

Sidhu warned against falling prey to such emotionally charged appeals, saying, “As expected, the tweet is now deleted, so sharing the screenshot. Please don’t fall for such scammers.”

In response to the rising number of such cases, some alert residents have appealed to the public to donate only through trusted NGOs, known persons, or the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund and the Punjab Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.