New Delhi | Oct, 19 : The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday issued an advisory warning people against financial fraud through deceptive advertisements on Facebook and Instagram that use manipulated or deepfake videos of prominent public and political figures, including the Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Chief Ministers, to promote fake government welfare schemes and promise financial assistance.
The National Cybercrime Threat Analytics Unit (NCTAU) of the MHA issued the advisory pointing out that the fraudsters deceive victims into paying purported taxes, processing fees, registration charges and other expenses to receive the promised benefits. In some cases, the advisory says, victims are lured through fake cashback rewards and scratch-card or spin-and-win contests and tricked into approving Unified Payments Interface (UPI) collect requests, resulting in money being debited from their accounts.
The advisory also cautioned people to exercise extreme care if they receive calls from international numbers, particularly those beginning with +92, Pakistan’s country code, from individuals claiming to represent public figures or their offices.According to the advisory, fraudsters circulate advertisements, primarily on Meta platforms, featuring manipulated videos that falsely show public figures announcing or promoting welfare schemes intended to provide financial assistance to needy people. Some advertisements contain phone numbers, while others redirect users to fraudulent websites to claim the purported benefits or rewards.Victims are contacted through phone calls or WhatsApp chats, or redirected to websites offering fake scratch-card and spin-and-win contests, it said, adding, “In several cases, callers using international numbers, particularly +92 (Pakistan) numbers, claim that the victims have been randomly selected to receive financial assistance.””Fraudsters then demand repeated payments under the pretext of taxes, processing fees, registration charges, verification fees or other administrative expenses before releasing the promised funds,” it said.In some instances, the advisory mentioned, victims are directed to payment applications and persuaded to enter their transaction PINs on the pretext of receiving prize money. Instead, the transaction authorises a payment from the victim’s account to the fraudster, leading to financial losses.The NCTAU has advised people to verify welfare schemes through the official websites of the concerned government departments before responding to advertisements on social media. “They should also verify the purpose and recipient of any payment requested in connection with a government benefit.”The advisory urged people to confirm the identity of individuals claiming to represent government departments through official channels and, if in doubt, visit the concerned office in person.It also cautioned against sharing sensitive personal and financial information, including Aadhaar and PAN details, bank account information, one-time passwords (OTPs) and UPI PINs, with unknown persons.People have been advised to verify claims made in videos and voice recordings featuring public officials through authentic sources and carefully check transaction details before approving any UPI collect request.The advisory emphasised that a UPI PIN is used to authorise payments and not to receive money.People who encounter fraudulent applications or fall victim to such scams have been urged to report the incident immediately by calling 1930 or visiting www.cybercrime.gov.in.
