Online Frauds

Soon, merchants may lose option to request 'collect' UPI payments

Authorities are now favouring 'push' transactions, where customers initiate payments by scanning QR codes or using other secure methods

How a Delhi man duped senior citizens by posing as an insurance agent

The accused, Priyesh Giri, confessed that he had committed fraud with more than five senior citizens over the past year, including an elderly woman

NPCI warns users against call merging scams; here's how to protect yourself

The NPCI issues warning against a scam that involves fraudsters tricking people into merging calls, where users unknowingly share their OTPs, leading to financial loss

Rs 30 crore assets restituted to SBI in Telangana loan 'fraud' case: ED

The Enforcement Directorate Saturday said it has restituted assets worth more than Rs 30 crore to a bank as part of a money laundering investigation against a Telangana-based refinery company accused of committing a loan fraud of about Rs 190 crore. The case pertains to the company named Sheetal Refineries Limited and some other linked entities. "Directorate of Enforcement, Hyderabad zonal office has successfully accomplished the process of restitution of properties worth Rs 30.71 crore to the State Bank of India in connection with a money laundering case against Sheetal Refineries Limited (SRL) and others," the ED said in a statement. The company availed credit facilities from a consortium of banks, including SBI and Punjab National Bank, which later turned into non-performing asset (NPA), it said. The firm availed 21 "fraudulent" Letters of Credit from these banks, based on fake and forged invoices, without any actual supply of material or legitimate business transactions, it ...

Why RBI has asked banks to change their internet domain name to 'bank.in'?

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the launch of two domains: '.bank.in' for all Indian banks and 'fin.in' for NBFCs

RBI to introduce 'bank.in' and 'fin.in' domains to enhance payment security

This initiative aims to reduce cyber security threats and malicious activities like phishing; and, streamline secure financial services.

Fighting digital fraud: From KYC processes to advanced authentication

To prevent fraud, we need better know-your-customer (KYC) processes

NSE issues warning of fake financial awareness session run by a fraudster

The National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) on Thursday issued a public warning about an individual named "Anaisha Patil" who is fraudulently claiming to be the general manager of the NSE. The person has been using the email ID "national.financial.awareness@gmail.com" to deceive the public by falsely associating themselves with the NSE's "National Financial Awareness Academy." The impersonator was attempting to conduct an investor awareness programme, in collaboration with the Government ITI, Dhoraji, District Rajkot, under the guise of being an official NSE event. The session was scheduled to take place on January 30 from 11 am to 12 pm. However, the NSE has clarified that it is in no way associated with this event, nor has it promoted or endorsed it. In a statement, NSE has cautioned the public to stay away from such fraudulent sessions, emphasising that participation in these events will be entirely at the individual's own risk. The exchange also clarified that it would not

Over 33% respondents lose money to scams via real-time payments: Report

More than one-third of people surveyed have reported losing money to scams through real-time payments, according to a report. Highlighting the growing threat of scams in India's real-time payments (RTP) ecosystem, 34 per cent of respondents reported paying for goods, services or investments that were never delivered, according to the report by global analytics software company FICO. The report stated that 60 per cent of respondents reported exposure to messages from scammers, and 54 per cent said friends or family members had been scammed. While fewer Indian consumers reported losses in 2024 compared to 2023, the percentage of high-value losses those exceeding Rs 800,000 doubled from 2 per cent to 4 per cent, said Dattu Kompella, managing director in Asia for FICO. While 56 per cent of losses were relatively small, under Rs 50,000, these amounts can still be devastating for many households, the report said. Around 45 per cent of Indian consumers identified improved fraud detecti

'I was crying, begging': Influencer Ankush Bahuguna on 40-hr digital arrest

The scammers forced Bahuguna to switch off all electronic devices, forbade him from communicating with anyone, and coerced him into making multiple financial transactions

Bank frauds jump to Rs 21,367 crore in first half of FY25, shows RBI data

In April - September period of FY24, while there were 14,480 incidences of frauds, the amount involved was only Rs 2,623 crore

Govt to release guidelines on pesky calls next month: Consumer Affairs secy

The consumer affairs ministry will release guidelines next month to tackle unsolicited commercial communications or pesky calls, a senior government official said on Tuesday. Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said the department has prepared draft guidelines in consultation with stakeholders, which will be harmonized with upcoming regulations of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). "We are ready with the draft guidelines on pesky calls. We will harmonise it with their (Trai) norms and issue it next month," Khare told reporters on the sidelines of a National Consumer Day event. Trai Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti, who was also at the event, said the consumer affairs ministry is focusing on guidelines for business entities' roles, responsibilities and conduct, while the telecom regulator will separately introduce stricter norms in response to growing consumer complaints. The initiative stems from a joint committee of Indian regulators, led by Trai, which decided to strength

Govt recommends prosecution in online job scams, urges website blocks

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the Lok Sabha on Friday that his ministry has requested for blocking certain websites offering fraudulent jobs abroad and also recommended for the prosecution of those involved in such scams. Responding to supplementaries, Jaishankar said the government has brought back 1,167 Indians from Cambodia and another 497 from Myanmar, who were taken there on the pretext of getting them jobs. He said people are made to work illegally by those running such online scams. "In India, we have requested for the blocking of sites which promote such jobs. We have recommended prosecution in certain cases for people who have been involved in this," the minister said during the Question Hour. He said a "different set of problems" have been raised for West Asia, the Gulf and the Middle East, "where we have a situation" of under-payment or non-payment of wages and maltreatment of Indian professionals and workers. Jaishankar asserted that the Indian embassies

59,000 fell victim to online trading fraud in Odisha over 6 yrs: CM Manjhi

More than 59,000 people became victims of online trading frauds in Odisha during the last six years, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi informed the Assembly on Monday. In a written statement, Majhi said 769 online trading fraud cases were reported in the state between 2019 and November 2024 and 59,437 people were victims of such frauds. Most of the online trading fraud cases reported in 2023 and 2024. Altogether 190 cases involving cheating of 18,994 people were reported in 2023, while 40,270 people were cheated in 472 cases the next year, the chief minister said in question of Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati. In 2023, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha police registered four online trading fraud cases against cyber criminals, who allegedly cheated 18,804 people, he said. Similarly, the EOW has registered three such cases in the current year, in which 40,219 people were cheated during online trading, Majhi said. Stating that steps have been taken to control online trad

Govt blocks 1,700 Skype, 59K Whatsapp IDs used in 'digital arrest' fraud

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), a wing of the Ministry of Home Affairs, has identified and blocked more than 1,700 Skype IDs and 59,000 WhatsApp accounts used for digital fraud, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar also stated that the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System,' launched under I4C in 2021, enables immediate reporting of financial frauds to prevent the siphoning off of funds by fraudsters and so far, over Rs 3,431 crore has been saved in more than 9.94 lakh complaints. "The I4C has pro-actively identified and blocked more than 1,700 Skype IDs and 59,000 WhatsApp accounts used for digital fraud, Kumar said in response to a written question. As of November 15, 2024, more than 6.69 lakh SIM cards and 1.32 lakh IMEIs, as reported by police authorities, have been blocked by the government. The minister further explained that to strengthen the mechanism for addressing cyber ...

Crores lost to 'digital arrest' scam: Here's how to avoid falling victim

A 90-year-old Gujarat man lost Rs 1 crore to fraudsters posing as CBI officers. Here's how you can protect yourself

Link UPI app to bank account having limited funds; set daily limits

Fraudsters also place fake QR codes over legitimate ones-on parking meters, donation boxes, etc. When users scan them, the payment goes to fraudsters' accounts

This wedding season, don't fall for fake invites scam. Tips to stay safe

Scammers are exploiting the wedding season by distributing fake wedding card PDF files via WhatsApp and when the recipients open these documents, malware is downloaded onto their devices

Bengaluru man nabbed: ED busts Rs 10 cr scam involving fake PANs, tax fraud

Using Aadhar and PAN data from property records, he forged documents to open bank accounts in the names of his targets, specifically choosing banks with lax KYC requirements.

RBI cautions on deepfake videos of governor giving financial advice

"These videos attempt to advise people to invest their money in such schemes using technological tools," the central bank said in a statement