Page 3 - Cyber Fraud

Airtel approaches Jio, VIL on joint telecom initiative against fraud

Airtel has informed the government and regulator Trai that it has approached Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea with a proposal for a joint initiative to unite the industry against rising telecom fraud and scams. Airtel has also urged all telcos to collaborate and collectively address the growing threat of deceptive and malicious scams targeting vulnerable individuals. In separate letters to the telcos, it cited data that India recorded over 1.7 million cybercrime complaints in the first nine months of 2024, resulting in financial losses exceeding Rs 11,000 crore. The call for action comes at a time when cybercriminals are using increasingly sophisticated tactics like phishing links, fake loan offers, and fraudulent payment pages, leading to a surge in digital fraud and identity theft incidents. Airtel has upped the ante on the war on digital spams and scams, and the last few weeks have seen the Sunil Mittal-led telco rolling out fraud detection solution to block rogue sites across ...

Andhra police arrestes international cyber fraud syndicate, 33 held

The Andhra Pradesh police has busted an alleged international cyber fraud syndicate operating from Achyutapuram here, with the arrest of 33 people and seized high-end tech equipment and Rs 3 lakh cash. Anakapalli district Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Vishnu Swaroop led simultaneous raids at three major locations on Thursday following a complaint from a Village Revenue Officer and intelligence inputs. Items including computers, network devices, and luxury furnishings were seized. This was a full-fledged call center targeting United States (US) citizens through impersonation and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) scams using Amazon support as a cover, Swaroop told PTI on Friday. According to police, job seekers were hired through online portals, trained in impersonation techniques, and then deployed for scam calls to extract sensitive financial information from US citizens The recruits, mostly from Assam and northeast India, were provided food and accommodation. In a week t

Navi Mumbai businessman duped of ₹2.74 crore in online gaming app fraud

The businessman lost the money to a gaming scam after fraudsters lured him with fake promises of a prize. Similar cases across India highlight growing cyber fraud via gaming apps

What is e-Zero FIR and how it can help you | Cyber fraud | MHA | Cyber crime

The government has launched the e-Zero FIR system to fast-track high-value cybercrime investigations. Starting in Delhi, it auto-registers FIRs for frauds above ₹10 lakh.

DoT launches FRI tool to flag risky mobile numbers in cyber frauds

DoT introduces Financial Fraud Risk Indicator under DIP to help banks and UPI platforms detect risky mobile numbers and prevent cyber frauds more proactively

42% WhatsApp users got job scam messages asking for payment, finds survey

A LocalCircles survey reveals 42% of WhatsApp users in India received fake job offers demanding payment. The report highlights rising impersonation and fraud cases across the messaging platform

Delhi Police plans unified platform to combat rising digital arrest frauds

Delhi Police is formulating a multi-pronged strategy to tackle the rising cases of digital arrest frauds, which includes setting up a centralised complaint mechanism and compiling a database of gangs involved in such crimes, officials said on Saturday. A four-member committee has been constituted to draft guidelines, policies and regulations for the move. Headed by a Special Commissioner-rank officer, the committee includes a convenor of Deputy Commissioner Police rank and two members of Joint Commissioner and Additional Commissioner rank, a senior police officer said. The move comes amid a surge in cases where cybercriminals, posing as police officers, government officials or courier agents, deceive victims by falsely claiming they are involved in legal offences. The fraudsters often conduct video calls simulating legal proceedings and coerce people into transferring large sums of money under threat of arrest. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which monitors cybercr

Cyberwarfare signs: Govt on high alert, urges industry to boost security

Large groups, MSMEs asked to step up defences

SC dismisses PIL on circulation of deepfake videos of Col Sofiya Qureshi

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a PIL alleging circulation of AI-generated deepfake videos of Colonel Sofiya Qureshi. The PIL sought setting up of a court-monitored expert panel for drafting a model law to deal with such online content. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh agreed with the petitioner-in-person Narendra Kumar Goswami that it was a "serious issue" but said that similar issues are being dealt with by the Delhi High Court by a bench headed by the chief justice. "We are not saying that it was not a serious issue but the Delhi High Court has been hearing this issue for a couple of years. If we entertain this petition, the high court will stop hearing the pending matter and all its hard work over the years will go in vain. It will be appropriate, if you approach the Delhi High Court," the bench said. Goswami said he was disturbed with the circulation of deepfake videos of Qureshi, who was part of the team which gave briefing on Operation ...

Karnataka HC asks State to set up cybercrime bureau to fight new age crimes

It also ordered the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate a major cyber espionage case involving theft of sensitive drone technology

FinMin authorises I4C to share info under PMLA to combat cyber frauds

The government has authorised Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to share and receive information from the Enforcement Directorate under the anti-money laundering law, a move aimed at detecting money trail and combating cyber frauds. Established under the home ministry, I4C is envisaged to act as the nodal point to curb cybercrime in the country. I4C focusses on improving coordination between various law enforcement agencies and the stakeholders, driving change in India's overall capability to tackle cybercrime. In a notification dated April 25, the Revenue Department under the Finance Ministry included I4C under Section 66 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This would help I4C to share and receive information from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and other law enforcement agencies. Amid growing instances of cyber frauds targeting common man, this information sharing would help identify the masterminds behind such frauds which are mostly trans-national. Suc

Online travel platform EaseMyTrip denies association with Mahadev app

ED conducted searches at online travel portal's premises

₹1.49 cr seized in 100+ cyber fraud cases within 24 hrs of 1930 helpline

The city police has managed to seize around Rs 1.49 crore within 24 hours in 110 complaints of cyber fraud reported through the helpline '1930', an official said on Saturday. On Friday, the cyber helpline received 110 complaints of various cases of cheating including investment scam, share trading scam and online shopping scam in Mumbai, said a crime branch official. In each case, the crime branch acted swiftly and contacted the concerned bank to stop onward transfer of the money, thus seizing a total of around Rs 1.49 crore. People should contact the 1930 helpline immediately if they fall prey to a cyber fraud, the official added.

HAL loses Rs 55 lakh in cyber fraud after scammers alter email address

HAL's Kanpur branch received an email from cybercriminals posing as the genuine US-based dealer

Mumbai woman loses Rs 20 cr in digital arrest scam; police probe conspiracy

Officials said that both accused are part of an international fraud gang and were directly involved in planning and carrying out the crime

Over 2,800 Chinese involved in telecom fraud cases in Myanmar repatriated

Over 2,800 Chinese telecom fraud suspects who were part of gangs luring locals and foreigners to work in telecom scam centres along the Myanmar-Thailand border have been repatriated to China for trials. A total of 2,876 Chinese telecom fraud suspects have been repatriated from Myawaddy in Myanmar to China following a joint crackdown launched by China, Myanmar and Thailand, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security said on Friday. The mass repatriation marks a significant achievement in the joint operation between China, Myanmar and Thailand launched on February 20, and is a powerful deterrent to foreign criminal gangs, the ministry said. Last month, a Chinese court sentenced four key figures involved in cross-border telecom fraud cases to life imprisonment as part of its stepped-up crackdown against the gangs luring locals and foreigners to work in scam centres along the Myanmar-Thailand border. Earlier in February, hundreds of people from 20 nationalities, including Indians, who wer

6,046 cyber criminals arrested with help of 'Pratibimb' module: Govt

The 'Pratibimb' module, launched by the Union Home Ministry's Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which tracks the locations of criminals, has led to the arrest of 6,046 accused, 17,185 linkages, and 36,296 cyber investigation assistance requests, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. In response to a question, Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar said a coordination platform for Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs), called 'Samanvaya', has been launched for cybercrime data sharing and analytics. It provides analytics based on interstate linkages of crimes and criminals involved in cybercrime complaints across various States/UTs, he said. "The module 'Pratibimb' maps the locations of criminals and crime infrastructure on a map to give visibility to jurisdictional officers. The module also facilitates the seeking and receiving of techno-legal assistance by Law Enforcement Agencies from I4C and other SMEs. It has led to the arrest of 6,046 accused, 17,185 ...

Cyber fraud cases in India surged 4-fold in FY24, causing $20 mn in losses

Cyber literacy has lagged, leaving people vulnerable to fraud, with scammers impersonating officials or using AI to dupe unsuspecting people online

Fraudsters create fake links for vehicles registration plates; case filed

The Mumbai police have filed a case against unidentified cyber fraudsters for cheating vehicle owners by creating fake links for the registration of High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) for vehicles, officials said on Thursday. The incident came to light after an Assistant Transport Commissioner-rank officer approached the South Region Cyber police station here on Wednesday with a complaint against unidentified cyber fraudsters, an official said. The Maharashtra transport department has earlier mandated the vehicles registered before April 2019 to install HSRPs by April 30 this year. As per the Supreme Court's orders, the HSRPs are mandatory to prevent vehicle-related crimes. Accordingly, the work of replacing the number plates has been started in the state. The Regional Transport Office (RTO) has provided a link on the transport department website to facilitate vehicle owners to register themselves for the HSRPs, the official said. "The RTO has selected three vendors - Rosmert

Indian entities may lose Rs 20,000 cr to cybercrimes in 2025: CloudSEK

Indian entities are expected to lose Rs 20,000 crore due to cyber crimes this year, cyber security intelligence firm CloudSEK said in a report. The company claims to have done a detailed analysis of 200 companies across sectors, over 5,000 domain takedowns, data of about 16,000 brand abuse, official data from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) documenting nationwide cybercrime patterns and financial impacts etc for artificial intelligence based projection. "The biggest revelation from our research is the sheer scale of financial losses of over Rs 20,000 crore due to cybercrime, of which Rs 9,000 crore is due to brand name abuse alone. The fact that brand abuse is implicated in nearly one-third of all cybercrime incidents and a staggering 70 per cent of high-value scams is a wake-up call for India," Pavan Karthick M, Threat Intelligence Researcher at CloudSEK said. Cybercrime complaints are expected to exceed 25 lakh, with 5 lakh explicitly mentioning brand ...