Mangaluru: Even as the West Asia crisis triggered panic among citizens about LPG bookings, experts cautioned against falling victim to cyber criminals exploiting concerns over LPG price hikes.Cyber expert Ananth Prabhu told TOI that during crises, people often search online for assistance, which cyber criminals misuse, by deploying black hat SEO and AEO techniques to push fake LPG customer care numbers to the top of the search results. Citizen are advised to save official LPG helpline numbers in advance, rather than search at the last moment.“Whenever there is a sudden LPG price hike, panic behaviour follows. We are already seeing induction cookers and alternative appliances going out of stock due to panic buying. Cyber criminals wait for exactly such situations where fear and urgency override rational thinking,” said Prabhu.He also cautioned that fraudsters circulate messages on social media claiming ‘price lock’, ‘special subsidy’, ‘discounted cylinders’, or ‘priority booking’. “These messages are designed to trigger urgency and push citizens to click malicious links. QR phishing (Quishing) scams are rapidly increasing, and criminals are circulating QR codes claiming booking confirmation, subsidy credit, delivery verification, or payment receipt. The moment a QR code is scanned, the victim unknowingly authorises a payment. Fake LPG booking portals and cloned mobile apps are also being circulated. These platforms look identical to the original gas agency websites and are used to harvest personal data, Aadhaar details, OTPs, and banking credentials,” Prabhu said.“Another dangerous tactic involves fake delivery agents. They claim that due to heavy demand, cylinders will only be delivered if advance payment is made immediately. Otherwise, the booking will be cancelled or the cylinder returned. People must remember that the real weapon of cyber criminals is psychological manipulation. They exploit panic, scarcity, and urgency to force quick decisions. The best defence is simple: pause, verify, and never make payments under pressure,” Prabhu suggested.DC Darshan HV said people need not panic, as domestic LPG supply will not be affected in Dakshina Kannada. He said the district administration took up all necessary steps to ensure domestic LPG supply was not affected.
