CHENNAI: Cyber criminals, by making fake claims that firecrackers are available for sale at dirt cheap prices, have duped many people and the public should be vigilant, the Tamil Nadu police said on Saturday.

With Deepavali around the corner, the police said people should be cautious while making purchases online and said a total of 25 such cases have been registered during the past month.

Outlining the modus operandi, an official release said people were lured through advertisements, with bogus offers on social media platforms. Eventually, they get directed to a website where they make online payments to receive firecrackers. However, once the payment was made, the contact phone numbers of the bogus firms became inaccessible and people were cheated.

People may lodge their complaints at www.cybercrime.gov.in or call the toll-free number 1930 for assistance, the police said.