MHA issues advisory against online scams, flags fake social media ads as key concern

NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued an advisory requesting people to beware of fraudulent investment schemes, fake job offers and other online scams. The I4C under the MHA stated in the advisory that, in most of such advertisements, scamsters use deepfake videos to misguide the users leading to devastating financial losses for victims across the country who could be deceived by convincing visuals, false claims and professional-looking online pages. The advisory also highlighted a few cases of cyber fraud. In a recent case, a 25-year-old medical representative from Ahmedabad lost Rs 44 lakh in a trading scam that began with an Instagram advertisement. Drawn by the promise of high returns, he joined a Telegram group managed by fraudsters posing as financial advisers. The group initially showed rising profits on screen to build confidence before the victims entire investment suddenly disappeared, the advisory said. In another case, a 40-year-old woman from Ashok Vihar in Delhi lost Rs 21 lakh after falling for a fraudulent stock trading advertisement on social media. She had downloaded a fraudulent mobile application that closely resembled a legitimate brokerage platform. At first, small profits appeared in her account, convincing her of its authenticity. She was then added to a WhatsApp group of more than one hundred members where a woman posing as an expert guided her on investments. Believing the scheme to be genuine, she transferred money across three different bank accounts in Punjab, Bengal and Odisha. When she declined to invest a further Rs 70 lakh, she was blocked from the application and realised she had been cheated, the MHA said. Similarly, a student from Rohini lost more than Rs 1.4 lakh in a fake cashback scheme promoted through social media. Lured by promises of commissions via QR codes, she continued transferring money in the hope of recovering earlier payments. After a friend alerted her, she lodged a cyber fraud complaint and froze her account, recovering Rs 40,000. But by then she had lost Rs 1 lakh, the advisory said. More to these cases of scams relating to work from home have also been reported, the MHA said, while noting that these incidents share a common pattern: fake advertisements, social media manipulation and rapid movement of funds across several accounts to make recovery difficult. The MHA said, even as the I4C continues to monitor and counter these threats by working with law enforcement agencies and digital platforms, people are advised to stay alert and avoid responding to unsolicited investment schemes, cashback offers or part-time job messages circulating online. Any suspicious activity should be reported immediately through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal ( www.cybercrime.gov.in ) or by calling the 1930 helpline, which has enabled the recovery of significant amounts for victims nationwide, the MHA said, while asking people to remain alert and aware and follow only the official social media handle CYBERDOST on all leading social media platforms.