The fraud was operated from call centres in India to defraud hundreds of elderly and vulnerable people in the US, CBI officials said.
Before heading abroad, ensure your travel insurance policy offers all essential coverage and has an adequate sum insured.
Even as India's internet base continues to widen, with the country set to have over 900 internet users by 2025, a parallel rise in cyber threats has become a matter of huge concern. Experts say that the sudden surge in digital adoption left little time to develop a cybersecurity backbone for the country. This has put large amounts of data at risk.
Hindenburg Research, the forensic financial firm that challenged the Adani Group, took its name from the infamous airship that burst into flames upon arriving in New Jersey in 1937. And the counter to its damning report against the conglomerate was dubbed 'Operation Zeppelin,' named after the German dirigible airships used for reconnaissance and bombing during the First World War.
The number of cyberfraud cases has skyrocketed from 2,677 in 1999-2000 to 29,082 in FY24 -- more than a 10-fold increase. The RBI pegs digital payment frauds at Rs 1,457 crore in FY24, up more than five times in a year. It's not just the number of frauds. What's alarming is the growing sophistication of the fraudsters, exposing the vulnerabilities within the financial system, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Obscenity, cheating and sexual exploitation are India's leading cyber crimes, reports Chaitanya Mallapur.
'So, we would work with our members to ensure that we as an SRO create some sort of due diligence for fintechs.'
The Indian insurance industry is set to focus on customer-centric technological adoption and expansion into rural areas to drive growth in 2025.
Maharashtra and West Bengal lead the way in bank fraud.
It said a "sudden rise" in terrorist-financing investigations was seen in 2023 and this was attributed to events arising out of incidents in Manipur that led to such probes in more than 50 cases.
Domains spoofing the legitimate Olympics Web site, while fake mobile apps masquerading as transport, booking, or other planning apps are also certain to be leveraged by fraudsters during the event, cybersecurity firms say, which puts Indian users also at risk.
While 30 complaints were received each month, four to five could actually be followed up as real cases of cybercrime, Ashim Kar Choudhury, in charge of the cyber cell, told PTI. "Cybercrime is a crime committed primarily through Internet contact and includes credit card fraud, identity theft, child pornography, indecent chat-room behaviour, e-mail fraud, threat and hacking of sites," he said.
About 50 per cent of respondents said they spent close to five hours on the Internet daily.
After the recent attack on debit cards exposed the gaps in their security systems, banks are getting serious about data privacy.
'Every telecom user wishes to know who is calling. This will help in preventing cyber frauds using telecom services.'
'What we are actually missing in India is a platform wherein the government engages with cybersecurity experts, gets them employed and then utilises their capability to deter such attacks.'
The senior IPS officer said that 45 percent of cyber financial frauds taking place in the country are originating from the South East Asia.
Citizens won't have faith in Digital India if their hard-earned money is looted by cyber criminals and cyber fraudsters from banks.
A Europe-like cyber security defence alliance is the need of the hour, say banking technology experts.
Fraudsters in Himachal Pradesh minted a series of a cryptocoins -- two of which were KRO and DGT -- to cheat thousands of investors of more than Rs 200 crore over a period of five years, beginning in 2018 -- the year the crypto reached fever pitch.
India's e-commerce market alone is projected to reach $200 billion by 2026, making it a prime industry for ambitious entrepreneurs, explains rediffGURU Harsh Bharwani.
Whether it is the virtual world or the physical one using your credit card with a few precautions go a long way in keeping it safe. Be cautious and do not become a statistic in the growing credit card fraud!
In a bid to check fraud, the Reserve Bank on Friday decided to permit all banks to introduce card-less cash withdrawal through ATMs.
Personal data of thousands of people in India has been leaked from a government server which includes their name, mobile number, address and Covid test result, and these information can be accessed through online search.
The Telecommunications Bill, 2023, which was passed by a voice vote after a short debate, also allows the Centre to take possession of a telecom network in case of any public emergency or in the interest of public safety.
During the trip, check your bank account and credit card statements regularly for unauthorised transactions.
Wedding.con is a watchable show, if only to caution people about the latest scams, notes Deepa Gahlot.
The country's largest lender State Bank of India has seen a perceptible increase in the number transactions happening at its multiple digital channels, with the percentage moving from 60 per cent in the pre-pandemic period to 67 per cent currently, chairman Dinesh Khara said. The rise in the number of digital transactions at the bank was largely driven by pick up in e-commerce during the pandemic-induced lockdown, which restricted movement, he said.
'The major worry for everyone using Internet-linked devices today is whether the latest download on his smartphone or laptop is a bait from a digital hacker who is out to secure access to his hard-earned money,' notes T A Ramalingam, chief technical officer, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police recently arrested five suspected "white-collar jihadis" who were behind a campaign to spread falsehood about the sovereignty of the country.
'The focus needs to shift towards the ability to collect payments, particularly in tier-3 to tier-4 areas where acceptance is still lacking.'
With cyber criminals becoming savvier by the day, learning how to safeguard yourself is imperative.
Park is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Even devices such as connected lights, doorbells -- even garden sprinklers -- are all at risk from attackers who can remotely, or even physically, access them to dump firmware, warns Nir Chako, security research team leader, CyberArk, a security software company.
The NCSS is ready with the 'schematics' that would help government block all porn websites
It said the ransomware called 'WannaCry' or 'WannaCrypt' encrypts the computer's hard disk drive and then spreads laterally between computers on the same LAN.
Do not click on any pop-ups, links in messages or notification balloons if you are off the corporate VPN, warns Niranjankumar Laxman Upadhye.
With debit cards of 5 banks compromised, time to be very cautious while transacting. If possible, avoid non-bank ATMs.
India's snooping programme is officially underway and multiple agencies will use internet surveillance system Netra and National Cyber Coordination Centre to keep a tab on suspicious activities on the internet, says Vicky Nanjappa.
As many as 641 customers across 19 banks have been duped of Rs 1.3 crore using stolen debit card data
