Fake SMS Alerts On Rythu Bharosa Shock Farmers
Director of Agriculture B. Gopi wrote to Shikha Goel, Director of the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau: Reports
HYDERABAD: More than 2.73 lakh farmers across several districts in Telangana received fake SMS alerts on Wednesday claiming that the Rythu Bharosa assistance of ₹6,000 per acre for the rabi season had been credited to their bank accounts. The messages were circulated in the name of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, lending them an air of authenticity. However, farmers who rushed to banks to check their balances and withdraw the money were shocked to find that no amount had been credited.
Taking serious note of the fake messages, the Agriculture Department lodged a complaint with the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau, suspecting misuse of its name and SMS communication channels by cybercriminals.
Director of Agriculture B. Gopi wrote to Shikha Goel, Director of the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau, on Wednesday, seeking a detailed investigation into the origin of the messages received by approximately 2,73,128 farmers.
In his letter, Gopi stated that the Agriculture Department had neither initiated nor authorised any SMS communication informing farmers about the credit of Rythu Bharosa assistance. He said the department had been using the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) SMS Service Portal to send official messages to farmers but had not initiated any such transmission.
The department suspected possible unauthorised access to its SMS service portal, misuse of its name and the use of other SMS gateways to circulate the messages and create confusion among beneficiaries.
Gopi requested the Cyber Security Bureau to trace the source and origin of the SMS alerts, identify the agency, individual or entity responsible for transmitting them and examine whether the C-DAC portal or any other SMS gateway had been accessed or misused without authorisation.
He also sought examination of technical evidence, including SMS gateway details, sender IDs, transmission logs and associated IP addresses, wherever available, to establish the source of the messages.
The Agriculture Director urged the cybercrime authorities to initiate an urgent investigation and take appropriate legal action against those responsible for sending the unauthorised communications.
He cautioned that such fake messages could cause serious confusion among farmers and undermine the credibility of the Agriculture Department and the Rythu Bharosa scheme. The department requested the police to treat the matter as urgent and initiate necessary action to prevent further misuse of its communication channels.
