Fact Check: Don’t slip over fraudulent Indian Oil contest, it has Chinese link

We found that these websites and contests were created to phish private data and have nothing to do with the companies they impersonated.

In this sweltering weather, as fuel prices almost seem to be on fire, a so-called contest has been making the rounds of WhatsApp and Facebook, offering to bring some respite to winners.

Bearing the colour scheme and the official logo of the Indian Oil Corporation Limited, this contest website offered its winners discounts on fuel prices and other prizes.

The India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) found this was a phishing scam. The website impersonating Indian Oil attempted to dupe people and extract private information. This website also appeared to have a Chinese connection.

Both Indian Oil and the Press Information Bureau announced in online statements that website offering freebies was not associated with the state-owned company.

But even without such clarifications, several red flags raised suspicion about the website’s authenticity. First and foremost, the URL did not feature the words “IndianOil” or “IOCL”. The website’s design was far from professional. The “About” button was not clickable, something that would not be the case in the real Indian Oil website.

Further, contest questions like “Do you know Indian Oil?” appeared intentionally designed to ensure that a maximum number of people reached the registration page.

This was where people were asked to share personal information. Phishing websites often use methods like these to gain access to personal information. This information is then either sold to others or used to commit financial fraud.