MHA Warns Of AI Deepfake Threat To India’s Financial, Digital Ecosystems

The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a fresh advisory warning that Artificial Intelligence-powered deepfakes are emerging as a significant threat to India’s financial and digital ecosystems.

Authorities cautioned that cybercriminals are increasingly deploying advanced AI tools to create realistic synthetic identities and deceptive videos capable of circumventing security mechanisms.

The advisory, released by the National Cybercrime Threat Analytics Unit (NCTAU) under the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), stated that fraudsters may exploit these technologies to bypass facial authentication systems, liveness checks, Video-KYC procedures, account recovery processes and other digital verification safeguards.

According to the advisory, criminals often initiate contact through social media platforms and messaging applications. They also use job portals, dating websites and telephone calls.

Once communication begins, scammers gather facial information from publicly available content. They may also persuade individuals to perform actions such as blinking, speaking, turning their heads or looking directly into a camera.

Cybercriminals then process the collected footage using sophisticated AI software to generate highly convincing digital replicas. These fabricated identities can imitate facial expressions, gestures, eye movements and even voice patterns.

The advisory warned that inadequate deepfake detection systems could allow these synthetic identities to defeat authentication measures.

Fraudsters may subsequently exploit them to conduct fraudulent Know Your Customer (KYC) verifications and operate financial accounts for unlawful activities.

To counter these risks, NCTAU urged financial institutions and fintech companies to strengthen onboarding systems with advanced deepfake detection capabilities.

“Locking your biometric profile is the strongest defence against this type of remote identity theft,” the advisory stated.

Authorities also advised citizens to monitor login alerts, authentication notifications and suspicious account activities.

Individuals should immediately report any suspected identity theft or financial fraud through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. They should also provide all relevant evidence.

The advisory further warned that unexpected mobile network disruptions could signal a SIM swap attack.

Officials clarified that the guidance aims to raise awareness about emerging AI-enabled identity fraud trends. They said it does not indicate vulnerabilities in any specific organisation, platform or service.

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