Cyber Fraud

Probe agencies can't be high-handed in freezing bank A/Cs: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court has observed that there can be no room for discrimination or high-handedness when investigating agencies instruct banks to freeze accounts during cyber fraud probes. A division bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Siddharth Nandan is examining the procedures adopted by authorities in such cases. The court noted that banks often freeze accounts without providing much information to the holders. The observation came during the hearing of a writ petition filed by a man named Tarkeswar Tiwari. "Various writ petitions before us disclose that banks have frozen the accounts and when the customers approach them, they are only informed that the accounts have been frozen on the letter either by the police authorities or the cyber crime. However, the said letters till date have not been brought on record in spite of the specific instructions on the previous dates," the court said. The court has directed the Union government to address these concerns, noting th

Datanomics: OTP scams topped cyber fraud as Telangana became a hotspot

The new norms are slated to kick in from April 1

Pan-India cyber investment scam busted, 12 held from 6 states: UP police

A pan-India cyber investment fraud allegedly involving overseas links was busted with the arrest of 12 people from six states, police said on Saturday. The accused were arrested over the past 24 hours from Odisha, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh for allegedly running a nationwide cyber investment racket through WhatsApp groups, SP (Rural) Amrit Jain said. Working in coordination with the Ministry of Telecommunications, the Aligarh cyber crime cell identified around 600 WhatsApp groups that were allegedly being used to lure and cheat investors across the country, Jain said. Police claimed that timely action helped prevent an estimated fraud of about Rs 500 crore that could have affected more than 1.5 lakh people nationwide. The case came to light after Dinesh Sharma, a retired deputy general manager of Punjab National Bank, approached the cyber crime cell on January 31 and reported that he had been cheated of over Rs 11 lakh through a WhatsApp-based .

Sanchar Saathi: DoT disconnects 3.9 mn mobile connections over cyber fraud

DoT's Sanchar Saathi initiative has enabled members of the public to report suspected fraudulent communications through its Chakshu facility, available via a web portal and mobile application

15 women among 22 arrested in Patna for operating cyber fraud call centres

Twenty-two people, including 15 women, were arrested from Bihar's Patna district for their alleged involvement in a cyber fraud, police said on Wednesday. The arrests were made during raids at three locations - Lakhan Kutir, Ved Nagar and Saubhagya Sharma Path - in Patna's Saguna Mor and Rupaspur areas. "We received information from the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) that illegal call centres were being operated in the Saguna Mor and Rupaspur areas to defraud people via cybercrimes. During raids, we arrested 15 women and seven men from three specific locations," Cyber Police Station (Patna) DSP Sangeeta told reporters. Nineteen laptops, one desktop computer, 53 mobile phones, 12 ATM cards, and several documents were recovered during the raids, she said. "Their primary targets were owners of cyber cafes. They download data and have a team to call the targeted people. They defraud them by promising B2B services and setting up Aadhaar centres," the DSP said. Sangeeta said that the ...

Cyber insurance explained: Shield against online fraud and ID theft

It gives access to legal, forensic and recovery support, not just money reimbursement, say experts

CBI arrests key cybercrime operatives after searches across 10 states

The CBI has arrested an alleged cybercriminal after conducting a massive countrywide search operation across 35 locations as part of a sweeping multinational crackdown on cyber-enabled financial crimes, officials said on Monday. Christened Operation CyStrike, the crackdown was launched on January 30 in coordination with law-enforcement agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, Kuwait, Ireland, and Singapore. The CBI officers searched 35 locations across 10 states, including Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Telangana and West Bengal. The raids disrupted multiple cybercrime networks based in India that targeted victims in the United States, the United Kingdom, Kuwait, Ireland, Singapore, and India, officials said. "During search operations, CBI busted and dismantled a transnational cyber-enabled financial crime network being operated by the accused persons from New Delhi, targeting US victims online. Electronic devices, viz

How Chinese-language networks laundered $16 billion via crypto in 2025

Known as CMLNs, these networks laundered $16.1 billion via cryptocurrency in 2025 and accounted for nearly 20 per cent of the global illicit crypto market last year

Fake traffic challan scam alert: How cybercriminals are stealing money

Fake traffic challan messages sent via SMS and WhatsApp are tricking people into paying on fraudulent websites, leading to massive financial losses

New MHA SOP eases refunds for cyber fraud cases below ₹50,000: Report

Under the SOP, refunds in small-value fraud cases, where the disputed amount is below ₹50,000, can be processed quickly without requiring a court order

Delhi Police bust Taiwan-linked cybercrime gang, recover ₹100 crore

The Delhi Police has busted a Taiwan-linked international cybercrime syndicate that allegedly defrauded around Rs 100 crore from people across India by impersonating anti-terror and law enforcement officers and placing them under "digital arrest", an official said on Saturday. Seven people, including a Taiwanese national allegedly coordinating the operation, have been arrested so far in the case, registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), IT Act and Telecommunications Act, police said. Investigators said several of the accused had previously worked in Cambodia-based scam centres and were allegedly recruited and funded by a Pakistan-based handler, while a Nepal-based layer is suspected to have remotely controlled operations. According to investigators, the cybercrime network targeted victims by making phone calls posing as officers of the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and other security agencies, falsely accusing them of links with terror incidents such as the ...

US Congress email breach linked to China's 'Salt Typhoon' spy campaign

Emails of staff working for US House committees were reportedly hacked by China under the 'Salt Typhoon' cyber espionage campaign; the breach was detected in December last year

Cognizant hit with many US class-action lawsuits after TriZetto data breach

The complaints state that TriZetto, which provides healthcare claims, failed to protect personal data and did not inform affected people in a timely manner after a cyberattack

Delhi Police crack cyber fraud racket using fake stock app; two held

The Delhi Police has busted a cyber fraud syndicate operating through a fraudulent stock trading application and apprehended two men from Haryana for allegedly cheating a woman of Rs 22.7 lakh, officials said on Tuesday. The probe began following a complaint lodged by Dr Amita Garg on November 13. The complainant alleged that she was added to a messaging app group 'Stan Chart Dialogue Forum L7', where administrators shared advice on D-mat share investments. DCP (Shahdara) Prashant Gautam said one of the group admins, identifying herself as Yalini Guna, persuaded the victim to invest via a mobile application and shared a download link. The complainant, initially, invested around Rs 2.7 lakh through multiple transactions. While the application displayed apparent profits, the victim was pressured to invest further sums when she attempted to withdraw her money. In total, she transferred Rs 22.70 lakh before being blocked from the app, police said. An e-FIR was filed under sections 318(

South Korea's Coupang to pay $1.1 bn after data breach hits 34 mn users

Coupang said it will give purchase vouchers worth 50,000 won to eligible users; these vouchers can be used across different Coupang services

1 in 2 people believe DoT's SIM-binding rule will cause disruption: Survey

LocalCircles' nationwide survey finds half of consumers expect disruptions from DoT's SIM-binding mandate, while 7 in 10 international travellers fear problems using messaging apps abroad

Cybersecurity product companies' revenue to reach $6 bn by 2026: DSCI

India's cybersecurity product revenues are expected to grow to around USD 6 billion by 2026, the Data Security Council of India said on Thursday. IT industry body Nasscom's data security arm has estimated Indian cybersecurity product companies earned revenue of USD 4.46 billion in 2025. "India cybersecurity product companies revenue is set for healthy growth in 2026. It is estimated to reach USD 5.98 billion in 2026," DSCI CEO Vinayak Godse said at Annual Information Security Summit 2025. He said that the segment has grown 4 times in the last 5 years. "The segment grew 25 per cent year-on-year in 2025," Godse said. He said artificial intelligence (AI) will be an important factor that will have an impact on the segment. "It is a greenfield for the segment. We are still trying to figure out the impact of AI. We are also seeing the geopolitics scenario at present has made the market conducive for India cybersecurity companies," Godse said. He said India cybersecurity firms have bee

'Sanchar Saathi is optional, user can delete it': Govt issues clarification

Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia clarified that Sanchar Saathi is optional, following uproar over the government mandate asking phone makers to pre-install the app to help curb cyber fraud

Supreme Court entrusts CBI with pan-Indian probe into digital arrest cases

Supreme Court has asked the CBI to prioritise its investigation into digital arrest scams, directing all states and government agencies to cooperate and empowering the agency to examine bankers

Govt gives smartphone makers 90 days to preload govt cyber security app

The Centre has reportedly asked phone makers to preload its Sanchar Saathi cyber safety app on all new devices within 90 days, and ensure users cannot delete it, as part of steps to curb phone fraud