Deepfake attacks rise 900%, most women take 'no action': Report

Report flags sharp rise in AI-generated deception, with women disproportionately targeted and cybercrime complaints climbing sharply

A report by technology firm pi-labs, published in early 2026, has sounded a warning over a “digital deception epidemic” in India.  The study reveals a 900 per cent surge in deepfake content in recent years. It highlights a staggering gender disparity, finding that more than 90 per cent of explicit deepfakes circulating online target women. This misuse of generative AI is increasingly used for non-consensual sexual imagery, image morphing and identity manipulation. In India, the crisis is reflected in government data, with cybercrime complaints involving women jumping from roughly 50,000 in 2024 to nearly 80,000 by 2026 — a 60 per cent increase in two years. 

 

 

Protecting privacy

• 5,000 face-swap apps, over 1,000 voice-cloning tools accessible to public
• 65% of Indian organisations reported experiencing deepfake-driven attacks in 2026
• Report recommends individuals restrict their publicly available high-quality images and audio clips, which serve as the ‘raw material’ for AI training
• It advises people to have strict control over social media privacy to prevent automated bots from scraping personal data for synthesis

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Source: pi-labs 2026 report, ‘AI-driven deepfake abuse in India’