CHENNAI: Parents of a Class 12 student at a government school in Tirunelveli recently received a call that seemed too good to be true. The caller, who had all the details about the student including her father’s name, school, and address, claimed that she has received a scholarship of Rs 28,500.
He then proceeded to ask for the phone number linked to her father’s UPI ID to deposit the amount. The student’s father grew suspicious and said that he would first check with the school before sharing any details, and the call eventually turned out to be a scam.
Unfortunately, not all parents are as vigilant. Across the state, several families have fallen victim to similar scams, losing amounts ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000. Fraudsters, pretending to be government officials, have been targeting parents, especially those of students in Classes 10 and 12, under the guise of scholarships.
To counter this, the school education department has directed Chief Educational Officers (CEOs) across the state to ensure that schools promote awareness about these scams among parents to make sure that they do not fall prey and always double-check such claims.
The circular was issued after the state wrote to the school education department about the rising instances of such scams, especially in Tirunelveli district.
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The circular itself cited 10 community service registers filed regarding such incidents in Tirunelveli recently. Among them, five were filed in August. Many parents have also not filed any complaints despite losing money, it said. “About six parents in our school received such calls and two of them have lost their money,” said a government school teacher in Tirunelveli.
The teacher also shared an incident where a student’s mother received a call, and the scammer deposited Rs 25,000 into her account. Moments later, not only was that amount withdrawn, but the Rs 6,000 in her account vanished. Neither the school education department nor police have any idea how scamsters got access to students’ data.
The department said the fraudsters approach parents through WhatsApp saying their kids have got scholarships. Later, they send a fake QR code and ask parents to scan it. However, scanning it results in withdrawal of funds. The school education department along with the TN e-Governance Agency, is providing Aadhaar enrollment facilities in schools, for disbursement of scholarships.
But scammers are exploiting such initiatives, the circular read. Teachers were told to inform parents that the department will never request bank account details or personal information over the phone. Meanwhile, Tirunelveli police said they are looking into the scam.