I4C Warns of Deepfake Modi and Sitharaman Ads Selling Fake Welfare Schemes

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) issued a warning on Monday, 19 October 2026. It says fraudsters are using deepfake videos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and state chief ministers. The videos appear in social media ads for fake government welfare schemes.^[1][2]

What Happened

I4C works under the Union Home Ministry. Its National Cybercrime Threat Analytics Unit (NCTAU) has detected a rise in these scams, mainly on Meta platforms.^[3] The ads run on Facebook and Instagram. Many are classified as political ads.^[1]

The videos are deepfakes or manipulated clips. They appear to show the leaders announcing a scheme that promises financial aid to people in need.^[2] Other ads offer cashback or rewards through scratch-card or spin-and-win games.^[3]

The leaders are being impersonated. The videos are fake. They are made to look like official announcements.

According to the advisory, the scam usually follows these steps:^[2][3]

1. A person sees the video ad in their feed on Facebook or Instagram.
2. The ad lists a phone number, or links to a WhatsApp chat or a fraudulent website.
3. Once in contact, the victim is promised the benefit, cashback or reward.
4. The victim is then asked to pay fees first. These are described as taxes, processing or registration fees, verification charges or other administrative expenses.
5. The requests repeat. Each payment leads to another one.

Deccan Herald reported that the repeated payments end up "resulting in substantial losses" for victims.^[1] It gave no loss figures or case counts.

The advisory describes two more tactics. Some people get calls from international numbers, mostly starting with +92, Pakistan's country code. The caller claims the person was randomly selected to receive funds.^[1] Others are tricked into approving UPI collect requests from fraudulent merchants. Some are told to enter their UPI PIN to receive prize money. The PIN authorises a debit from their own account.^[2]

Why It Matters

The scam relies on trust in familiar faces. A video of a national leader announcing aid can look like an official notice. The advisory asks people to treat videos and voice recordings of officials with caution.^[3]

The UPI tactic turns a promise of money into a payment from the victim. As the advisory put it, according to Deccan Herald, "a UPI PIN authorises payments and is never required to receive money."^[1]

What to Do

The NCTAU advisory gives this guidance:^[2][3]

• Check any welfare scheme on the official website of the government department concerned before acting on a social media ad.
• Ask what any fee is for and who receives it.
• Confirm the identity of anyone claiming to represent a government department through official channels. If in doubt, visit the office in person.
• Never share Aadhaar, PAN, bank details, OTPs or UPI PINs with unknown people.
• Check the transaction details carefully before approving a UPI collect request.
• Treat videos and voice recordings of public officials with caution. Verify their claims through official sources.

Verify What You See and Hear

Witness checks whether an image or video frame is real or synthetic. Upload anything suspicious at witness.vision/scan. The Witness Chrome extension scans images directly on any webpage.

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