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Cyber-Fraud Wave in India Intensifies With New FIRs, Big Losses, Mule-Network Breakthroughs

Fresh FIRs span multiple cities, with probes focusing on layered mule-account networks.

Overview

  • Police in Mumbai registered new cases including a 69-year-old dentist allegedly duped of ₹3.62 crore via a fake trading site and a retired bank manager who lost ₹1.83 crore in a coercive “digital arrest” scam, with FIRs under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the IT Act.
  • Pune cyber police recorded two complaints from senior citizens coerced into transferring ₹3.25–₹3.29 crore by callers posing as officials who threatened arrest in fabricated money-laundering cases.
  • Investigators detailed a ₹78.85 lakh cryptocurrency case tied to a WhatsApp group and a bogus website, with funds routed through at least 18 beneficiary accounts and a delayed report due to stress and stigma.
  • Karnataka Cyber Command reported identifying 869 mule bank accounts linked to organised laundering networks since December 2025, citing ₹85.05 crore involved, ₹13.43 crore put on hold, and 68 arrests with searches and seizures.
  • Authorities flagged evolving tactics after a 77-year-old in Mumbai lost about ₹92 lakh following an AI-generated video impersonating the finance minister that promoted a crypto scheme, prompting fresh warnings on deepfake ads.