Rs 30,000 crore lost to digital fraud; So far, so bad

Some may define Cyber fraud as the art of siphoning money from an individual or an organisation's account to their own name using technical prowess. Not a day goes by without news about people losing money through some kind of cyber fraud. The attempt to steal Rs 40 lakh from the account of Vizhinjam Port Company VISL was stopped at the last minute due to the intervention of suspicious officials. The fraudsters introduced themselves as Divya S. Iyer, the Managing Director of VISL, and chatted with the SBI manager, suggesting that Rs 40 lakh be transferred from the account. Accordingly, the money was transferred to another account in Rajasthan. However, the VISL officials raised the alarm after they realised that the money had been withdrawn from the account. Immediate actions were taken to stop fraudsters from withdrawing the money from the account in Rajasthan.

Recently, Rs 40 lakh was embezzled from the Kandla Port office in Gujarat. If big companies can be duped this cheaply, there is no point mentioning the fate of the common man. Despite several notifications issued by the investigating agencies, including the CBI and the Union Home Ministry, busting the myth of digital arrest, such frauds are still in business. In this context, it is reassuring that WhatsApp has informed the Supreme Court that it has identified and banned 9,400 accounts related to digital arrest fraud. These accounts were banned within 12 weeks of January 2026. WhatsApp also informed the Supreme Court that an investigation conducted in collaboration with central agencies has found that most of the fraudulent accounts targeting Indians are operating from Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia.

Fraudsters are using names and official logos like Delhi Police, CBI, and ATS to lure victims. Therefore, WhatsApp has introduced AI-based systems and logo matching tools to prevent such methods from now on. WhatsApp has also informed the Supreme Court that it will bring new changes to warn users when suspicious messages reach them from unknown numbers. Cyber ​fraud cannot be stopped except through a coordinated effort by various investigative agencies and companies like WhatsApp, Airtel, Jio, and BSNL. So far, the country has lost about Rs 30,000 crore due to digital fraud.