Fraudsters mimic KEA portal, steal personal data

Bengaluru: In a major data theft, a website impersonating the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) has obtained information of students aspiring to join various professional courses, including the medical stream, in the state.

The suspected fraudsters behind the website — www-kcet.org — even scheduled a counselling session for students on May 25 at the Bengaluru Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), one of the premier government-run medical colleges in the state.

The KEA has lodged a complaint with the cybercrime police at the jurisdictional police station along with the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and the screenshots it received from students who registered with the impersonated website.

KEA officials said they came to know about the fraud activity when they received calls from some parents and students. “I was surprised to get calls from a few students and parents asking why the KEA was collecting their mobile numbers and other details. Digging further, we got shocking details of the impersonated website,” said H Prasanna, Executive Director of KEA.

Prasanna said he assigned a few employees of the KEA Computer section to register in the fake website by posing as students.

“Our staff got messages confirming their registration for an event ‘Medical Expo 2025’ at BMCRI on May 25 between 8 am to 8 pm.”

The KEA said the organisers identified themselves as a company named Medical Mentor. “They misused the KEA logo as well. As per our information, they have been conducting such events for several years and mainly trap medical seat aspirants, assuring guidance/seats by charging Rs 30,000 per student. They conducted these events at BMCRI and last year over 1,000 students registered as per the information we gathered. Interestingly, they even invited top officials of the medical education department for the event,” Prasanna said. He suspected the role of the seat-blocking mafia behind the fraud.

The KEA is yet to ascertain the number of students who registered with the impersonated website. “We once again warn students and parents not to share their application number, CET number or mobile number with any websites. KEA will never ask for such details,” Prasanna said.