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.
Since its launch in April, helpline 155260 has been able to prevent more than Rs 18.5 million of defrauded money from reaching the hands of fraudsters.
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.
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.
Fraudsters lure individuals with false promises of recovering bonuses or maturity proceeds from lapsed policies.
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.
Targets should avoid panicking and hang up. 'Disconnecting stops the scammers from building psychological pressure.'
Six individuals, including a woman who accused Haryana BJP chief Mohan Lal Badoli and singer Rocky Mittal of rape, have been booked for extortion and criminal intimidation. The Himachal Pradesh police filed a cancellation report in a court, stating no evidence supported the rape allegations. Mittal claims the woman and her associate threatened to implicate him and Badoli in a 'honey trap' case, demanding Rs 50 lakh for a compromise. He further stated that the accused lodged a false rape case after failing to extort money.
In 2025 alone, at least 50 suicides linked to online gambling losses have been reported across India. According to FIRs, the victims were addicted to betting, largely driven by cricket, rummy and poker.
Rajan posed the question while speaking at the annual leadership conference in Mumbai National Association of Software and Services Companies.
To educate customers on the modus operandi of financial fraudsters and share inputs on safe banking habits, banks are now coming up with awareness campaigns aimed at preventing customers from falling into the trap of fraudsters.
UPI-related frauds have accounted for a cumulative loss of Rs 2,145 crore across 2.7 million reported incidents.
With digital adoption fast gaining currency, India is likely to see retail digital payments double to $7 trillion by 2030 from current levels, a study by Kearney and Amazon Pay said. In the report 'How Urban India Pays', Kearney-Amazon Pay said strong adoption of digital payments in online purchases has potentially led to a permanent shift in consumer behaviours, fuelling offline adoption as well.
Here's what you must know about the new rule, its implications, and whether it affects taxpayers' rights and privacy.
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.
In 2023-2024, 95 scheduled commercial banks received over 10 million complaints from their customers. The process of KYC at many banks has become 'HYC' -- harass your customer, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Scammers and fraudsters keep coming up with creative ways to gain access to sensitive information and only by being alert and aware of such attempts can data privacy be truly maintained.
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.
Police have arrested three persons from Mumbai, including a woman, for allegedly trafficking a man from Chhattisgarh's Durg district for 'cyber slavery' in Laos in southeast Asia and cheating him of Rs 2 lakh, an official said on Wednesday.
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel's CEO has warned customers about rising cases of cyber-frauds, citing a recent instance of a fraudster who posed as company executive and under the guise of updating KYC form, tricked a user into revealing bank details to transfer large amount from the bank account. In an email outreach to subscribers, Gopal Vittal, CEO of Airtel urged users to be vigilant against such cases of cyber fraud that are becoming "alarmingly frequent". Vittal spoke of a recent case where a cyber-fraudster posing as company executive called up an Airtel customer on the pretext of updating his Know Your Customer (KYC) form, tricked him into revealing his bank details and transferred a large sum of money from his bank account.
Activist short-seller Nathan Anderson, known for his high-profile campaigns against the likes of Adani Group, said he is closing his firm, Hindenburg Research, not because of any threat -- legal or otherwise -- and that he stands by all its reports.
Customers taking small and convenient steps and some degree of care and precaution while paying digitally will ensure safety and security from new threats that emerge every day, says Avinash Luthria
Unprecedented bribery charges, farewells, separation, failed union, monumental mergers and record-breaking IPOs, along with a healthy dose of online happenings in the form of spat and lessons in customer care, corporate India saw it all in 2024.
Will allowing business correspondents to hawk insurance products help in reviving 5-lakh strong field agents as a viable channel?
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.
As RBI governor, Sanjay Malhotra will have to give the highest priority to the interest of the economy while deciding on the growth-inflation trade off at Mint Street.
Cloned journals have become more rampant in the post-pandemic world.
Regularly monitor your account for any suspicious activity. Keep your devices updated with the latest security patches to prevent vulnerabilities. Ensure the physical wallet you use is stored securely to avoid loss or theft.
About 1.2 trillion tax evasion cases have been detected and as many as 59,000 entities identified for verification in order to ascertain whether they are fake.
57% of the respondents indicated that their organisations did not conduct independent fraud risk assessment
The syndicate used "stooge" bank accounts and shell companies to transfer the largest amount linked to a single case recorded in the city, the Customs and Excise Department of Hong Kong 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.
Advisors and agents known to you personally can also sell wrong policies.
'This year's detection of frauds and probable recovery will be mainly driven by several compliance measures put in place, and amendments made to the GST regime to plug revenue leakages particularly in new-edge sectors.'
Protect yourself and minimise such frauds by following these simple rules
The average ticket size of retail health insurance in India has increased by nearly 48 per cent over 6 years due to elevated medical inflation and increased demand for higher coverage policies among policyholders. According to data by online insurance broker PolicyBazaar, the average ticket size of retail health insurance in India has increased to Rs 26,533 so far in FY24, up 48.22 per cent from Rs 17,900 in FY19.
Be cautious when purchasing from little-known Web sites.
Cruelty by the husband (or his relatives) accounted for about 40 per cent of these cases. Delhi reported the highest number of cases of crimes against women (12,552) followed by Mumbai with over 5,000 cases.
India's internet economy is estimated to reach $1 trillion by 2030, primarily due to e-commerce, which is expected to be worth $325 billion and rank third globally, according to industry experts. Last year marked a crucial turning point for India's e-commerce sector, with notable changes in consumer trends, technology, and regulations. InGovern Research Services, a leading corporate governance advisory firm, hosted a virtual roundtable to deliberate on the notable developments in India's e-commerce sector in 2023, with a particular focus on the essential role of customer trust in fueling its ongoing expansion.
