New Delhi, Oct. 19 -- The National Cybercrime Threat Analytics Unit (NCTAU) has warned of a rise in financial frauds involving misleading advertisements on Facebook and Instagram that use the faces of the Prime Minister, Finance Minister and state chief ministers to promote fake government schemes promising financial assistance.
The unit, functioning under the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) of the Union Home Ministry, said fraudsters were using manipulated videos and deepfakes to make it appear that public figures were endorsing schemes offering financial help to people in need.
Victims are subsequently contacted through phone calls or WhatsApp messages and directed to fraudulent websites, where they are asked to pay taxes, registration charges or processing fees to receive the promised assistance.
The NCTAU also flagged misleading advertisements offering cashback, scratch cards and spin-and-win prizes. In such cases, people are tricked into approving UPI collect requests or sharing their UPI PINs on the pretext of receiving rewards, resulting in financial losses ranging from small amounts to thousands of rupees.
In some instances, victims receive calls from international numbers, mostly bearing Pakistan's +92 country code, informing them that they have been selected for government financial assistance. They are then pressured to pay taxes or processing charges and threatened with losing the benefit if they refuse. Such scams can result in substantial losses.
The unit has advised people to verify government schemes through official websites and check the identity of anyone claiming to represent a government agency.
It cautioned people against sharing Aadhaar, PAN, bank account details, one-time passwords (OTPs) or UPI PINs with anyone. Before authorising a transaction, users should check the recipient's name and payment details. Videos and audio recordings purportedly featuring public officials should also be verified through their official channels.
People who encounter such frauds have been urged to report them by calling 1930 or visiting www.cybercrime.gov.in.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.