Iran war charity scam: IB warns of ongoing donation fraud preying on emotions

The Intelligence Bureau has warned of a charity scam exploiting the Iran war, targeting mainly the Shia community in Jammu and Kashmir. Fake fundraisers have collected crores, possibly financing personal gains and anti-national activities

New Delhi: After the Union Home Ministry issued an advisory regarding some elements trying to indulge in radicalisation in the event of the war in Iran, the Intelligence Bureau has now sounded an alert against a charity scam.

Many groups have cropped up who are collecting donations in the name of the war in Iran. These elements are collecting funds on the pretext of welfare of the people of Iran who have been affected due to the war, an official said.

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Similar activity was discovered when the war broke out between Israel and Palestine last year. Such charities come up during such periods and once they collect the funds, they vanish, another official said.

These persons running these fake charities make an emotional push. They show photographs of the war, most of them which are digitally altered to collect funds. There are a good number of people who donate money and even give out gold after becoming emotional, an Intelligence Bureau official said.

What the agencies have learnt is that the extent of this scam is the highest in Jammu and Kashmir. There are people who have gone door-to-door seeking donations to support the people affected by the Iran war. They spin stories and hype up the situation so that they can cheat people by taking advantage of their emotional vulnerabilities, officials have found.

In Kashmir, the authorities have learnt that it is the same network which used to collect funds for the separatist groups that existed prior to the abrogation of Article 370. The donations that these groups have managed to collect citing the war in Iran is staggering. It runs into crores of Rupees.

In Jammu and Kashmir alone, the scam is worth around Rs 16 crore. The authorities have found that people have given away even their savings. In some cases, people have given gold and even their copper utensils to these persons. The target audience has been mainly the Shia community, an official said.

The Shia Muslims are more vulnerable and can be manipulated emotionally, especially about the ongoing war in Iran. They tend to give away their money and do not even ask for any accountability from these scammers, another official said.

The agencies are closely monitoring similar activity in many other parts of the country. It is taking place in several places, but the scale appears to be the highest in Jammu and Kashmir, the agencies have found. These elements indulging in this scam have kept their operations largely offline. They go to houses and make emotional and religious appeals to lure vulnerable people. The people are shown pictures of the war, following which an appeal for donations are made.

While issuing the fake receipts the people are told that the funds would be sent to Iran for the welfare of the people who are affected by the war. These persons have avoided using online platforms as their activities can be tracked easily.

Another worry for the agencies is what is being done with the funds that have been collected so far. They are most likely used by some for personal gains, but a large part of the proceeds are meant to carry out anti-national activities, officials have learnt.

In Jammu and Kashmir, there are attempts being made to revive the separatist movement and the funds could well be utilised for the same, the agencies warn.