Fraudsters have a field day

Even at the height of floods in Kerala a few days ago, hundreds of people across Kerala refused to leave their homes when rescue workers came by, fearing loss of their valuables and livestock.

A number of fraudsters have been exposed in the days that followed, substantiating such fears.

One fraudster operating from Tiruchirapalli in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, identified as Vijay Kumar, circulated on social media an appeal to contribute to the Kerala chief minister’s relief fund, after cleverly changing the bank account number mentioned by the government.

Kumar got hold of the advertisement that the Kerala government had released seeking donations for the flood relief work, used photoshop software to alter the account number, and then spread it on social media.

The police cyberdome team in Kerala got suspicious and found that he was attempting to benefit from the donations made by unsuspecting people. A police team apprehended him from Tiruchirapalli and he has been remanded in custody. The bank account that he used to usurp donations, has been closed by the bank authorities.

In Thiruvananthapuram, a truck which had a banner saying it was carrying relief material was found to be distributing commercial goods to shops, by shrewdly evading taxes by using the banner.

In Nenmara, police took into custody a lorry driver identified as Pothundy Dinesh, who diverted 46 sacks of relief material from Nenmara, meant for the flood affected people in Nelliampathy. Nearly 3,000 people, mostly plantation workers affected by the floods, continue to be in relief camps in Nelliampathy.

At Valakam near Muvattupuzha, five people who claimed ownership of a cow that had come floating with the waters, were all found to be impostors. Each of them claimed that it was his cow. But they were exposed when a doctor examined the insurance tag on the cow’s ear. He passed on details of the insurance tag to IT department who found that the owner of the cow was one Edakkad Baby, of Rakkad.