Link your UPI app to a separate bank account or wallet that has only a limited sum.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
'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.'
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.
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.
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.
'Other sectors that manage the savings pools of Indians are giving tough competition to life insurance companies.'
Fraudsters lure individuals with false promises of recovering bonuses or maturity proceeds from lapsed policies.
The number of frauds in the banking sector during the first half of the current financial year has increased substantially to 14,483 cases, although the amount involved is only 14.9 per cent of the previous year's amount, according to a RBI report. The report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2022-23, underlined the need to protect the banking system and the payments system from the risks of fraud and data breaches emanating from cyber threats. As many as 14,483 frauds were reported involving an amount of Rs 2,642 crore in the first half of current financial year, as compared to 5,396 cases (Rs 17,685 crore) in the same period a year ago.
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.
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 fundamental responsibility for preventing such crimes and for bringing the criminals to justice rests with the State, and it cannot abdicate that function.
Digital house arrest is a tactic where cybercriminals confine victims to their homes in order to scam them. The offenders generate fear by making audio or video calls, frequently posing as law enforcement officers using AI-generated voices or video technology.
Seventeen persons, including four hailing from Taiwan, were arrested by Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch for allegedly operating a nationwide 'digital arrest' racket, a Gujarat police official said on Monday.
He said the transformation brought about by the fintech sector in India is not just limited to technology, but its social impact is far-reaching. He also stressed that fintech has dented the parallel economy and is bridging the gap between villages and cities on the financial services front. The prime minister also said that in the last 10 years, the fintech space has attracted investments of more than $31 billion and fintech startups have grown by 500 per cent.
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.
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.
Kataria has been involved in a big nexus of the human traffickers since last year and may have links with an international gang, the police said.
A 40-year-old freelance journalist has claimed a person 'hypnotised' him over the phone and duped him of Rs 40,000, but police and experts said this is one of the 'most normal kinds of cyber fraud' and not a case of hypnosis.
Some of the celebrities whose names and details were used by the fraudsters are Abhishek Bachchan, Shilpa Shetty, Madhuri Dixit, Emraan Hashmi and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of Shahadra Rohit Meena said.
India needs to follow countries such as Singapore who have and are further bolstering their cyber security apparatus.
The directions follow a report by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, which has seen a new pattern of transnational cyber-enabled financial fraud and investment scam, impersonating as stockbrokers and company executives.
UPI-related frauds have accounted for a cumulative loss of Rs 2,145 crore across 2.7 million reported incidents.
'Raising the entire amount in one go may not be prudent, given the market dynamics.'
The highest-ever goods and services tax (GST) evasion has been done by the online money gaming industry.
'The protection of secrecy and anonymity gets lost with this linking.'
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.
AI-driven and deepfake-enabled cyberattacks are anticipated to become increasingly prevalent in 2025 with sectors like healthcare and finance most prone targets, according to a recent report. The India Cyber Threat Report 2025 by the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) and Seqrite, spotlighted the evolving tactics of cybercriminals and the rise of AI-driven attacks as a major concern. "Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be used to develop highly sophisticated phishing campaigns utilising deepfake technology and personalised attack vectors, making them harder to detect.
Obscenity, cheating and sexual exploitation are India's leading cyber crimes, reports Chaitanya Mallapur.
As many as 150 youths from the port city and its vicinity have been stuck in Cambodia for a year already, where they are being coerced to carry out cyber crime and ponzi scams by Chinese handlers, the police said.
A strong demand was made in the Lok Sabha to eliminate online betting and gambling applications. YSRCP member Maddila Gurumoorthy urged the government to set up a dedicated task force to take action against betting and gambling apps. He also asked the government to draft regulations for such applications and launch awareness campaigns about the dangers of online betting. Other issues raised included deposit insurance coverage for bank depositors, representation of Scheduled Castes in the Kerala government, challenges faced by nurses, and the need for paramilitary forces in Jharkhand during upcoming Hindu festivals.
