Fake cracker websites before Diwali: big discounts, pay-first links, crackers that never come

Illustrative stock image via Unsplash. It does not depict the organisations named.

Every year before Diwali, police in Tamil Nadu warn about social media ads for cheap crackers that lead to fake shops: you pay, nothing comes. Diwali is on 8 November. The warning signs, how to buy safely, and what to do if you paid.

01 / The short answer

If an Instagram, Facebook or YouTube ad offers crackers at a huge discount, and the seller wants full payment by UPI before anything is sent, treat it as a scam. Buy from a licensed shop you can visit, or a seller you already know. If you have paid, call 1930 now.

Diwali is on Sunday, 8 November 2026, so most people order crackers in the second half of October. That is when these ads peak.

02 / How the trap works

Reported by the media from Tamil Nadu Police Cyber Crime Wing advisories. Before Diwali 2024, the wing said 17 complaints about online cracker sales had come in on the national cyber crime portal in September and October alone (DT Next, India Today, The Hans India and IANS all reported the figure).

• The ad. Posts on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook offer crackers or other festive items at big discounts.
• The chat. Buyers who respond are moved to WhatsApp or a phone call, then sent a link to a website.
• The shop. The website looks like a real seller's catalogue, with product lists, prices and payment options.
• The payment. You pay. The crackers never arrive, and the seller stops answering.

Police also warned before Deepavali 2023 that bogus firms' phone numbers went dead once payment was made (PTI, via Outlook), and in October 2025 Namakkal district police said they had received numerous complaints about crackers and sweets sold online at low prices, with money taken by QR code, UPI ID or net banking (The Hindu). We are not naming the websites police listed: such sites change names every season, and a list goes stale fast.

03 / Warning signs

• A price far below every other seller you can find, or a countdown such as 'offer ends tonight'.
• You found the seller through an ad or a forwarded message, not because you already knew them.
• The 'shop' wants full payment in advance, to a UPI ID or QR code in a person's name, and offers no other way to pay.
• No physical address you can check, or an address that does not match the phone number or the business name.
• The website is new, or has no reviews except on the site itself.
• After you pay, the seller asks for one more payment before dispatch, such as a 'courier' or 'transport' charge.

04 / How to buy crackers safely

• Buy locally if you can. Licensed shops sell crackers in most towns during the season. A firecracker manufacturer in Virudhunagar district told IANS in 2024 that buyers who want genuine crackers can get them from licensed shops.
• Check the seller before paying. Police advise checking the seller's reputation and real contact details (Namakkal police, 2025) and comparing prices with established sellers (Tamil Nadu Cyber Crime Wing, 2024). Call the number. Look the address up on a map.
• Do not pay the full amount up front to a personal UPI ID or a QR code sent in chat.
• Cash on delivery is not a guarantee. CERT-In warns that some fake online stores take cash-on-delivery orders and then deliver fake goods or something other than what was advertised. Check the parcel before you pay, where the courier allows it.
• Do not share card details, OTPs or bank logins with a seller, and never 'scan to receive money'. Scanning a QR code is for paying, not receiving.

Before you buy, check your state's and city's rules on selling and bursting crackers. They differ from place to place.

05 / If you paid and nothing came

• Call 1930 straight away, then your bank on its official number (bank fraud helplines). The sooner you report, the better the chance the money can be held in the receiving account.
• Complete the complaint on cybercrime.gov.in and note the acknowledgement number. Our lost-money checklist and UPI fraud guide cover the first hour.
• Save everything: screenshots of the ad, the website address, the WhatsApp chat, the seller's numbers and UPI ID, and the transaction ID. Do not delete the chat.
• Report the ad on the platform where you saw it, and report the seller's number on Chakshu (Sanchar Saathi).
• Need your state's cyber police? See cyber police contacts for every state and UT.

For other festive shopping traps, see our festive sale guide, and practise with the fake shop demo in the Scam Lab.

06 / Sources and limits

Confirmed (official documents): Diwali on Sunday, 8 November 2026 (the central government's holiday list, DoPT); CERT-In's warning about fake online stores and cash-on-delivery scams (advisory CIAD-2024-0050). Reported (media): the Tamil Nadu Cyber Crime Wing's 2024 figure of 17 complaints and how the scam works (DT Next, India Today, The Hans India, IANS via Yes Punjab); the 2023 advisory (PTI via Outlook); the 2025 Namakkal warning (The Hindu). We could not find a 2026 police advisory on cracker sites as of 5 October 2026, and will update this guide if one is issued.