Staff Reporter / New Delhi
India’s Ministry of Home Affairs, via the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre has issued an urgent advisory warning against a sophisticated surge in AI-driven financial fraud. Cybercriminals are now leveraging advanced artificial intelligence to craft highly realistic deepfake videos and synthetic identities, specifically designed to bypass modern digital security walls.
These AI tools are being aggressively used to trick facial authentication, beat liveness verification, and game video KYC processes, allowing fraudsters unauthorized access to financial services and account recovery systems. Typically, scammers initiate contact through social media, job portals, dating apps, or video calls. They trick victims into performing simple on-camera actions—like blinking, speaking, or turning their head—to harvest facial and voice data, which is then used to train their deepfake models.
Government has directed financial institutions and fintech companies to urgently upgrade their deepfake detection mechanisms and strengthen customer onboarding security. Meanwhile, citizens are being urged to protect their biometric data, remain alert to suspicious login attempts, closely monitor banking notifications, and immediately report any fraudulent activity to the national cybercrime reporting portal.
The advisory highlights that fraudsters typically initiate contact through social media platforms, job portals, dating platforms, or phone calls. They collect facial data of victims, sometimes by convincing them to perform simple actions such as blinking, turning their head, or speaking on camera.
The government has advised financial institutions, including fintech companies, to strengthen deepfake detection mechanisms and enhance customer onboarding systems. The individuals have also been urged to secure their biometric data, remain alert to suspicious login attempts, and regularly monitor email or SMS notifications related to financial activities. Citizens are also advised to report any suspicious financial transactions immediately through the national cybercrime reporting portal.