New Delhi, Aug. 21 -- India has directed Google to shut down hundreds of accounts on its Firebase web development platform after finding a pattern of criminals misusing the service to impersonate major banks and defraud people, according to government notices and a source familiar with the matter.

Online scams have become one of India's most pressing law enforcement challenges, with Indians losing nearly $2.4 billion in alleged cyber fraud in 2025, according to government data. For years, the government has gone after scammers by ordering their websites removed.

Of late, however, Indian officials have noticed a "pattern" that scammers are using the Google's app and website development tool Firebase, which has millions of users the world...