The Supreme Court has restrained lower courts from releasing the accused in a digital arrest fraud case where a 72-year-old lawyer was duped of Rs 3.29 crore. The court expressed concern over the growing cybercrime and the targeting of elderly citizens.
A retired banker in Delhi lost his entire life savings, amounting to Rs 23 crore, to cyber fraudsters who posed as ED and CBI officers. The victim was kept under 'digital arrest' for over a month and forced to transfer funds under duress.
According to the direction dated November 28, all mobile phones that will be manufactured in India or imported after 90 days from the date of issuing of the order will need to have the app.
Bangalore police may seek Interpol help to solve the crime.
A new cyber fraud known as 'pig butchering scam' or 'investment scam' has emerged, targeting unemployed youths, housewives, students, and needy people who are made to lose large sums of money daily, according to the latest annual report of the Union home ministry.
The Supreme Court has expressed serious concern over the rising cases of digital arrest cybercrime in India, where fraudsters extort money from victims by posing as law enforcement officials. The court has vowed to deal with such cases with an iron hand and has sought reports from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the CBI.
'Big Week For #USIndia Law Enforcement Collaboration'
Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm may deliberately delay transactions, issue fraud alerts, and require an extra layer of user confirmation before processing any transactions that are likely to be classified as fraudulent.
Pune police have arrested a Telangana-based electronics engineer for an alleged online fraud with a private university of Rs 2.46 crore.
The Reserve Bank on Thursday affirmed its commitment to continue with its supervisory measures aimed at early identification of risks and vulnerabilities. The central bank would also focus on enhancing cyber resilience and capabilities of Supervised Entities (SEs) by implementing the recommendations of the inter-regulatory Working Group, which has uniform baseline cybersecurity guidelines for financial entities, it said in its annual report.
A family in Noida was duped of over Rs 1 crore after they were kept under 'digital arrest' for five days by unknown people posing as government officials. The scammers threatened the family with arrest by making video calls and claiming to be investigating money laundering and other crimes. This is a new type of cyber fraud where the accused pose as law enforcement agency officials and use video calls to intimidate their victims.
The Supreme Court is considering entrusting the CBI with the investigation into digital arrest cases, citing the magnitude and pan-India spread of such crimes. The court has sought details of FIRs registered in different states and union territories and is monitoring the progress of the investigation.
Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal on Thursday warned about a rise in cyber frauds amid a massive surge in online transactions during the second wave of the pandemic, and asserted the company is working "relentlessly" and coming out with safety features to ensure customers are not vulnerable to fraudsters. In an e-mail outreach to customers, Vittal highlighted the modus operandi being adopted by fraudsters and also drew attention to cyber frauds related to digital payments. "With the growing second wave of the pandemic and lockdowns in various parts of the country, there has been a massive increase in online transactions. "Unfortunately, there has also been a corresponding increase in cyber fraud," Vittal said.
'Instead of the government and telecom operators solving the mess of their own creation, they're telling us we need to give access to our phones perpetually.'
Targets should avoid panicking and hang up. 'Disconnecting stops the scammers from building psychological pressure.'
Users should be aware of "fake emails" sent in the garb of a government e-notice, said the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) in a public advertisement.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) brass, including its Governor Sanjay Malhotra, on Tuesday told a Parliamentary panel that it was "optimistic" about the impact of the US tariffs on the Indian economy and, in long-run, it could benefit the country due to dipping trade relations between the US and China.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday asked fintech startups to come out with solutions to deal with the rising incidence of digital arrests, cheating by fly-by-night operators, and other kinds of cyber frauds. Speaking at the Digital Payments Awards 2025 ceremony here, the minister credited fintechs with helping speed up financial inclusion and taking the payment system to even the far-flung areas of the country.
'Other sectors that manage the savings pools of Indians are giving tough competition to life insurance companies.'
Link your UPI app to a separate bank account or wallet that has only a limited sum.
Pawan Kumar Soni, a 55-year-old farmer based in Sri Ganganagar City in Rajasthan, became a victim of a cyber fraud when his 26-year-old son Harsh Vardhan opened a link from a phishing message that flashed on his mobile phone.
The ministry of home affairs (MHA) has sent a high-level team to Ayodhya to deal with cyber threats ahead of the inauguration of the Ram Temple in the historical town on January 22.
As the RBI moves ahead for the launch of the central bank digital currency (CBDC), Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday marked out cyber security and digital frauds as the main challenges in the new system. Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar said there are two types of CBDCs - wholesale and retail - and a lot of work has happened in the former while the latter was termed as a "complicated" aspect which will take time. The RBI had earlier this year announced that it has started work on the CBDC, in line with other major central banks of the world which are looking at a fiat digital currency.
With the arrest of one person from Noida, the cyber cell of Uttar Pradesh police on Wednesday claimed to have busted an online fraud nexus worth Rs 3,000 crore with links in China.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asked fintech firms to focus on risk management at a time when criminals are using AI to mimic voices, clone identities and create lifelike videos to manipulate people.
The Delhi Police Special Cell arrested a man from Hyderabad for allegedly trafficking Indian youths and forcing them to work in fake call centres engaging in cyber fraud. The arrest came after a 2,500-kilometre non-stop chase, an officer said. The accused, Kamran Haider alias Zaidi, carried a reward of Rs 2 lakh on information leading to his arrest, declared by the National Investigation Agency. Zaidi was apprehended near Nampally Railway Station, Hyderabad, Telangana while trying to escape to another hideout.
The bench referred to three reports submitted by the cyber cell police which said the beneficiaries were added to the bank account without any message or OTP received on the registered mobile number and email to the registered email account.
A prankster in Samastipur, Bihar, posed as Donald Trump to apply for a residence certificate, leading the district administration to order an FIR and investigation.
Fraudsters lure individuals with false promises of recovering bonuses or maturity proceeds from lapsed policies.
In an age where personal data is a valuable commodity, investing in cyber insurance is not just a prudent choice; it is becoming a necessity for individuals and families alike, says T A Ramalingam.
Tackling cyber frauds effectively will be the greatest challenge facing us all in the present century.
In 2013, a total of 28,481 Indian websites were hacked
A pan-India 'fraud-to-phone' network has been busted by security agencies, which have also arrested eight people and seized nearly 300 new mobile phones bought with stolen funds, officials said on Tuesday. Moreover, 900 mobile phones, 1,000 bank accounts and hundreds of unified payment interface (UPI) and e-commerce IDs of this gang have been identified and are under investigation. Nearly 100 bank accounts, and debit and credit cards have been frozen by the security agencies so far, officials said.
Axis Bank recently informed the Reserve Bank of India that it had experienced a cyber attack, while the State Bank of India said it was re-issuing over 600,000 debit cards because of a potential security breach.
The total amount of fraud reported by banks showed a drop in 2020-21 - for the first time in eight years - though there is an emerging trend of private sector banks reporting a larger number of frauds related to card and internet banking. According to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India, commercial banks reported Rs 1.38 trillion of frauds in 2020-21, as compared to Rs 1.85 trillion in the previous year. The first half of the current fiscal year saw banks reporting frauds worth Rs 36,342 crore.
The police received over 500 complaints alleging that many social media influencers and YouTubers promoted the HIBOX mobile application on their pages and lured people into investing through the app, the officer said.
The fundamental responsibility for preventing such crimes and for bringing the criminals to justice rests with the State, and it cannot abdicate that function.
Banks do extensive investigation before declaring an account fraud; they owe it to us as they deal with our money. Why would they try to fix an innocent borrower? asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Addressing both the Houses of Parliament assembled together in the Lok Sabha chamber, Murmu said the government has taken numerous measures to control these cyber threats, creating opportunities for employment in the field of cybersecurity for the youth.
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