Achive.php April 25, 2025 - The Cyber Shark
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Archives for April 25, 2025

Pimpri-Chinchwad Cops Nab Duo in Multinational Cyber Scam Involving ₹2.5 Crore Fraud

Pimpri-Chinchwad

Pimpri-Chinchwad cyber police arrested two individuals for supplying mule bank accounts used in a ₹2.52 crore share market scam targeting a senior citizen. The network involved links to cybercriminals from Dubai, Pakistan, and other countries, using accounts sourced from vulnerable individuals. On April 22, 2025, officials said that two people had been arrested by the Pimpri-Chinchwad police’s cyber division for giving mule bank accounts to two scammers, one from Dubai and one from Pakistan. On March 24, police say a senior citizen who retired from the state irrigation department lost ₹2.52 crore in a share market scam. On social media, the accused, who subsequently testified before the police, contacted the complainant and assured him of substantial financial returns. When the elderly man realised he had been tricked, he went to the police. One Balasaheb Sakharam Chaure from Kaij in the Beed district has already been taken into custody by the cyber police in this case. “Further investigation showed that some of the fraud money was received in a bank account operating from Sangli,” stated Pravin Swami, assistant police inspector of the Pimpri-Chinchwad police’s cyber cell. Consequently, our teams hurried to Sangli and arrested Amol Patil, who had transferred 6% of Yunus Dilawar Chaughule’s bank account to him. On April 17, both defendants were taken into custody in Sangli. Yunus Dilawar owns and operates a mobile store. A man from Madhya Pradesh was contacted by both of the arrested suspects, according to additional research. During their time in Madhya Pradesh, they worked together. Police believe Yunus Dilawar was assigned to obtain bank accounts from Sangli and transfer them to the Madhya Pradesh-based individual. To yet, Yunus has given the Madhya Pradesh-based man access to eight or ten of these bank accounts, for which he has paid ₹2 to ₹2.5 lakh in fees. The Madhya Pradesh suspect is being sought, according to the police. The investigation found that Ganesh Kale was from Dubai and Chaure was a member of a cybercrime group commanded by a Pakistani individual. Chaure in the Marathwada area used to give the two mule bank accounts. When he first met Chaure, Kale was employed as an MLM (multilevel marketing) executive. Kale and the Pakistani national persuaded Chaure to grant them commission-based mule bank accounts. Chaure has collected ₹2.5 lakh in commission and has so far transferred 15 to 20 mule bank accounts from the Marathwada region. To open these bank accounts, he used to get official documentation from labourers, drivers, and uneducated people. Additionally, he had communication with cybergangs based in Nepal, Dubai, and other countries, according to Assistant Inspector Pravin Swami of the Pimpri-Chinchwad police cyber cell.

Google-Kantar study presents a cautiously positive view of India’s adoption of Gen AI

Google-Kantar

A Google-Kantar study highlights growing interest in Generative AI in India, though challenges in awareness and usability persist. Google’s push for localised language support, simpler interfaces, and device integration aims to make its Gemini AI more accessible across diverse user groups. The country’s use of Generative AI (Genai) is changing, according to a recent study by Google and Kantar India. Although interest in the technology is growing, there are still several barriers to entry, particularly in the areas of knowledge and usability. Early users of Google’s Gemini platform, however, are citing significant advantages, pointing to a possible route for broader adoption if these obstacles can be removed. Google is aggressively seeking to increase capabilities and streamline access. The study includes more than 8,000 in-person interviews from various town classes in 18 cities between November 2024 and March 2025. Men and women from socioeconomic classes A and B who were between the ages of 18 and 44 were the survey’s target respondents (referred to as “Indian” in the report). Although interest in AI is growing, the survey found a sizable knowledge gap. Less than one in three Indians have used a generative AI tool, and three out of five are unaware of what artificial intelligence is or does. Understanding how to access and use these technologies is cited as a barrier by three-fourths of individuals who are not currently using Genai. Google is concentrating on making its AI products more user-friendly to meet this challenge. We’ve begun incorporating a lot of those [Genai] features. You’re starting to notice a single app more and more now.”All of these features are built into the Gemini app,” said Manish Gupta, Senior Director at Google DeepMind, in an exclusive interview. The goal of this consolidation is to give users a single location for all of their generative AI requirements while also removing the confusion that is frequently brought on by different AI services. Google is giving multimodal interaction top priority to further improve accessibility. According to Mr. Gupta, “so users can ask them [AI] with a few prompts.” As a result, Gemini will be more user-friendly for a larger spectrum of users by enabling text, speech, and visual inputs. Google is also concentrating on diversity by providing language support. “Our team has been working hard,” Mr. Gupta emphasised, “and we can improve the quality [of AI output] by understanding over 100 Indian languages.” This aids the business in localising AI advancements, especially in India, where not everyone speaks English. Beyond the app experience, Google is also attempting to use smaller language models to integrate AI capabilities straight into gadgets. This makes Gemini more accessible even in places with constrained bandwidth by enhancing performance and lowering dependency on continuous internet connectivity. Early adopters are already discovering useful uses for Gemini, despite the difficulties in gaining access to AI technologies. The survey outlines a variety of use cases, such as researching difficult subjects, helping with schoolwork, organising trips, obtaining “how-to” guides, professional email support, purchasing advice, picture creation, coding aid, and even gastronomic exploration. 75% of Indians believe that to thrive in life, they need a daily growth collaborator, and Gemini is well-positioned to be that person.  In its report on the study, Google said that “for those who have overcome the initial barriers, the impact of Genai often goes beyond just task completion – it’s making a difference in how they feel about their capabilities.” The Google-Kantar report paints a cautiously hopeful picture of Genai in India. Although there are still many obstacles to overcome in terms of usability and awareness, Google’s efforts to simplify its products, give localized language support top priority, and incorporate AI directly into devices are essential steps in realizing the technology’s full potential as a “daily growth collaborator” for Indians from all socioeconomic backgrounds. The complete report is anticipated to provide more details on how Gen Z and Millennials view common problems.

Shaadi.com in Trouble: Hyderabad Police File Cyber Fraud Case Against Anupam Mittal’s Platform

Shaadi.com

The Hyderabad Cybercrime Police have filed a case against Shaadi.com after a woman was defrauded of ₹11 lakh through a fake profile on the platform. The incident has sparked concerns over the site’s lax verification processes and raised questions about digital intermediary accountability. A lady doctor was defrauded of Rs 11 lakh by a phoney profile on Shaadi.com, prompting Hyderabad’s Cybercrime Police to open a formal probe into the website. According to reports, J Vamshi Krishna, the accused, utilised a premium account to fabricate a phoney persona to entice the victim with promises of marriage. Without conducting any background checks or verification, Krishna took advantage of the platform’s services to directly access the victim. He persuaded the woman to send money by claiming financial hardship, and then he threatened her with private information. Officials characterised this as an instance of money abuse combined with strategic emotional blackmail. Shaadi.com Under Fire for Careless Verification and Profit Motive Krishna had committed similar crimes in at least 20 other cases in several states, according to investigations. Shaadi.com allegedly failed to authenticate papers or verify identification, allowing fraudsters to take advantage of unchecked vulnerabilities, even though it marketed its premium profiles as “verified.” The platform’s revenue-first strategy, which put subscriptions ahead of consumer safety, was condemned by sources in the cybercrime section. Concerns regarding intermediary accountability were raised when the suspect’s phoney profile was accepted and permitted to interact directly with users without the need for required safety procedures like ID verification. Policy Implications and Legal Repercussions for Digital Platforms Shaadi.com has been booked by the police under the Information Technology Act and pertinent Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections. The case is being looked into as a precedent for digital intermediary accountability under India’s developing cyber laws, in addition to being probed as a stand-alone fraud. The controversy surrounding India’s digital economy and the absence of regulations governing dating and marriage platforms has been reignited by this high-profile reservation. Cybersecurity experts contend that platforms should be held responsible for failures resulting from their lack of due diligence if they offer “verified” services.