In today's fast-moving technological era, many things have become easier for people, including access to government schemes and benefits. One such initiative is the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana launched by the Government of India, which provides financial assistance directly to the bank accounts of farmers. Under this scheme, farmers get Rs 6,000 annually in three installments.

So far 18 installments of this scheme have been distributed and now farmers are eagerly waiting for the 19th installment. However, in the meantime, there have been reports that fraudsters are taking advantage of this scheme to cheat farmers and siphon off money from their accounts.

Recently an incident came to light from Hyderabad, where a person received a message on his mobile phone claiming to provide benefits under the PM Kisan Yojana. The message included a link, asking the beneficiary to click on it to avail of the scheme. Trusting the message, the individual clicked on the link and was directed to a website that asked for personal details. He entered the requested information and also shared the OTP (one-time password) sent to his phone. As a result, ₹1.9 lakh was fraudulently withdrawn from his bank account within moments.

The incident highlights the growing threat of online scams, especially targeting farmers, who are often vulnerable due to a lack of awareness about digital fraud. Individuals need to be cautious when receiving unsolicited messages and avoid clicking on unknown links or sharing sensitive information such as OTPs.