Cyber Fraud

Corporate honchos on the radar of cyber criminals; I4C warns of 'Boss Scam'

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has warned of a sophisticated fraud campaign, "Boss Scam", targeting corporate leaders by compromising the devices of senior executives and their messaging accounts, before directing employees to make fraudulent financial transfers. In a carefully calibrated deception, scammers contact chief executives or other high-ranking officials via email and WhatsApp, posing as regulators from the Reserve Bank of India, threatening the victim with violations, urgent deficiencies and directing immediate action, creating a climate of manufactured pressure. The hackers unload their malware onto the devices used by the senior corporate leaders in the form of a compressed ZIP archive containing an executable program accompanied by a Dynamic Link Library file. "When the executive extracts and executes the file on a Windows desktop or laptop, a Trojan dropper is initiated. The malware establishes a persistent foothold, compromises the system, and hijac

Updated On: 22 Jun 2026 | 9:17 PM IST

Smaller AI models likely powering India's escalating deepfake menace

Cheap, customised AI tools are making deepfake scams harder to detect, exposing banks, fintechs and consumers to rising fraud risks

Updated On: 20 Jun 2026 | 12:20 AM IST

Ex-PM IK Gujral's son duped of ₹7.8 cr in online scam; ₹4 cr frozen

Former Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral was allegedly duped of Rs 7.8 crore after scammers impersonated him on an online messaging application and tricked his company's financial staff into transferring funds, police said on Thursday. Naresh Gujral, 78, is the son of the late Inder Kumar Gujral, who served as India's 12th prime minister from 1997 to 1998. An e-FIR in connection with the fraud was filed with the Delhi Police on Tuesday, prompting an investigation. According to police, the fraud occurred between June 12 and June 16. During this period, the scammers created an account on an online messaging platform using Naresh Gujral's display picture to impersonate him. They sent messages instructing one of his employees to transfer funds via Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) to a specified bank account for what appeared to be urgent business-related purposes. Believing the instructions were legitimate, the employee, who had been given financial access by Gujral, executed four separat

Updated On: 18 Jun 2026 | 2:12 PM IST

From Reels to risks: How scammers are turning videos into malware traps

Cybercriminals are moving beyond email scams and into social media feeds, using tutorial-style videos on TikTok and Instagram to spread malware and steal credentials

Updated On: 12 Jun 2026 | 4:46 PM IST

Fake jobs, seized passports, forced scams: Cyber slavery crisis hits Bihar

Bihar Police Probe 1,600 Residents Linked to Southeast Asia Cyber Scam Networks

Updated On: 18 May 2026 | 8:45 AM IST

Real-time risk scores on cards for digital payments to track fraud

Move aims to track originators of money transfers via mule accounts

Updated On: 17 May 2026 | 11:51 PM IST

Two Indian journalists win Pulitzer Prize for report on cyber fraud

Indian journalists Anand RK and Suparna Sharma have won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for their work highlighting digital surveillance and cyber fraud. Anand and Sharma won the award, announced on Monday, in the Illustrated Reporting and Commentary category. They share the award with Natalie Obiko Pearson of Bloomberg. According to The Pulitzer Prizes website, the award-winning work titled "trAPPed", produced for Bloomberg, narrates the "riveting account" of a neurologist in India who was held under a "digital arrest" through her phone, using a blend of "visuals and words" to underscore the "growing global challenges of surveillance and digital scams". The Pulitzer Prizes, administered by Columbia University, are regarded as among the highest honours in journalism, literature and music composition, recognising excellence in reporting and storytelling.

Updated On: 05 May 2026 | 11:30 AM IST

Floppy to Mythos, how ransomware grew into multibillion-dollar industry

Today, artifical intelligence makes malware coding and crafting convincing phishing-emails in any language simple

Updated On: 29 Apr 2026 | 11:43 AM IST

9,400 accounts linked to digital arrest fraud cases removed: WhatsApp to SC

Centre tells SC coordinated push spans scam networks, SIM controls, and AI-led detection

Updated On: 28 Apr 2026 | 11:29 PM IST

Why Indian govt is warning banks against Anthropic's Claude Mythos AI

Government asks banks to strengthen cybersecurity amid concerns over Anthropic's Claude Mythos AI and its potential to accelerate cyber threats at scale

Updated On: 27 Apr 2026 | 1:21 PM IST

Three pvt bank officials held in ₹2,500 cr cyber fraud case in Gujarat

Three officials of leading private banks were arrested for their alleged involvement in a Rs 2,500-crore cyber fraud racket in Gujarat's Rajkot district, bringing the number of those held so far in the case to 20, police said on Monday. Those arrested were identified as Maulik Kamani, a personal manager at Yes Bank in Padadhari; Kalpesh Dangariya, a manager at Axis Bank in Jamnagar; and Anurag Baldha, a personal banker with HDFC Bank, Rajkot (Rural) Superintendent of Police Vijay Gurjar said. Dangariya and Baldha were previously employed with Yes Bank, he added. Kamani allegedly assisted the earlier arrested accused in opening and managing suspicious accounts. He also helped bypass banking alerts triggered by high-value transactions by submitting additional documentation to keep accounts active, the SP said. Kamani was allegedly involved in cash withdrawals that were later routed through hawala channels (illegal money transfer system), supported by digital evidence recovered from h

Updated On: 21 Apr 2026 | 6:49 AM IST

CJI flags rise in 'digital arrest' scams, says even educated falling prey

Supreme Court raises concern over rising cyber frauds where scammers pose as officials; calls for safeguards as victims lose life savings

Updated On: 20 Apr 2026 | 10:45 PM IST

Sebi, DoT enter pact for information sharing, curbing cybercrime

DoT and SEBI will share data and intelligence to detect and curb misuse of telecom resources in securities fraud and investment scams, strengthening investor protection

Updated On: 15 Apr 2026 | 11:32 PM IST

Mule accounts, fake SIMs: How a ₹77 crore cyber scam could affect you

The accused set up a network of mule bank accounts to facilitate the transfer of funds derived from cyber crime and gaming-related fraud,

Updated On: 14 Apr 2026 | 11:22 AM IST

China's supercomputing centre may have suffered major data breach: Report

The data has reportedly been stolen from the National Supercomputing Centre in Tianjin (NSCC), a major computing hub that supports more than 6,000 users

Updated On: 09 Apr 2026 | 11:51 AM IST

DoT may push SIM binding deadline for WhatsApp, Telegram and more: Report

The government is reportedly giving messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram more time to comply with SIM binding rules after companies flagged technical challenges

Updated On: 30 Mar 2026 | 2:47 PM IST

Apple flags security risks on iPhones running older iOS versions: Report

Reportedly, Apple is alerting users with older iOS versions about active security threats, urging them to update their devices to avoid potential data breaches and hacking risks

Updated On: 30 Mar 2026 | 10:46 AM IST

CoinDCX founders arrested in fraud case; crypto firm flags 'impersonation'

CoinDCX said in a statement that the FIR was 'false' and that the alleged cheating occurred through a website impersonating the exchange and its founders

Updated On: 22 Mar 2026 | 2:13 PM IST

J&K Police bust international cyber fraud racket, arrest 7 in Srinagar

The Jammu and Kashmir Police's Counter Intelligence Wing (CIK) has busted a highly sophisticated international cyber fraud racket by arresting seven persons here, officials said on Thursday. The CIK-CID received several technical and credible inputs regarding the operation of "covert call centres" involved in fraudulent online activities targeting both foreign and local nationals. "The CIK promptly constituted specialised teams comprising technical experts and field operatives and carried out systematic surveillance, digital intelligence gathering and verification across multiple locations, ultimately identifying a key operational hub at the Industrial Area, Rangreth, Srinagar," they said. Subsequently, a CIK team conducted a swift and well-coordinated raid in different parts of Srinagar city on Wednesday. During the raid, seven suspects were apprehended on the spot, and a large quantity of digital and communication equipment was seized. The seized devices include 13 mobile phones,

Updated On: 19 Mar 2026 | 11:28 AM IST

SC to hear next week suo motu case concerning victims of digital arrest

The Supreme Court on Monday said it would hear next week a suo motu case concerning victims of digital arrest. Digital arrest is a growing form of cybercrime in which fraudsters pose as law enforcement officers, court officials or personnel from government agencies to intimidate victims through audio and video calls. They hold the victims hostage and put pressure on them to pay money. On February 9, the top court described the siphoning of more than Rs 54,000 crore by digital frauds as absolute "robbery or dacoity" and asked the Centre to draft a standard operating procedure (SoP) in consultation with stakeholders like the RBI, banks and the Department of Telecommunications to deal with such cases. On Monday, Attorney General R Venkataramani mentioned the matter before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. The top law officer said he would place a status report in the matter during the day. Contending that things are moving, he urged the bench to take up

Updated On: 16 Mar 2026 | 12:12 PM IST