01.A warning about deepfake welfare ads
On 19 October 2026, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which works under the Ministry of Home Affairs, issued an advisory through its National Cybercrime Threat Analytics Unit (NCTAU), warning of a rise in financial fraud built on manipulated and deepfake videos of public figures. The fake advertisements, mainly on Facebook and Instagram, show Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and state chief ministers apparently announcing government welfare schemes that promise financial assistance to people in need. Many of these advertisements are placed as political advertisements, which makes them look more credible to a casual viewer.
The advisory matters because these are not clumsy messages full of spelling mistakes. They are AI-generated videos and voice clips of people Indians see on television every day, placed inside the social media feeds they already trust. The aim is not to spread a political message but to move money out of ordinary bank accounts.
02.How the scam actually works
The advertisements carry phone numbers, or they push users towards WhatsApp chats and fraudulent websites to register for the scheme or claim a reward. Once a person responds, the fraudsters ask for repeated payments described as taxes, processing fees, registration charges, verification fees or other administrative expenses that supposedly must be cleared before the promised money is released. Each demand is small enough to seem harmless, but together they add up to a substantial loss.
A second version dangles cashback through scratch-card and spin-and-win contests. Users who click are shown fictitious winnings and then directed to payment apps, where they are persuaded to enter their UPI PIN on the pretext of receiving prize money. The transaction instead debits their account and sends the money to the fraudster. In other cases, victims are tricked into approving UPI collect requests from fraudulent merchants. The advisory also flags calls from international numbers, mostly those beginning with Pakistan's plus-92 country code, in which callers claim the person has been randomly selected to receive government funds.
03.Why AI changes the scale of the problem
Deepfakes change the economics of fraud. Making a convincing fake video of a well-known leader once needed a studio, actors and money. Today, widely available AI tools can produce one cheaply and quickly, and scammers can churn out many versions aimed at different states and languages. Because the videos impersonate people the public is used to trusting on matters of welfare and money, the normal instinct to believe an official announcement works against the viewer.
This is not the first time. An earlier I4C advisory in April 2024 had already warned about sponsored investment advertisements that used deepfake videos and images of prominent people, showing that the same impersonation trick keeps returning in new packaging. The latest advisory did not give a count of how many such advertisements are in circulation, or how much money people have lost, so the true scale of the problem is not publicly known.
04.What it means for Indian readers
Anyone with a smartphone and a UPI-linked bank account can be a target, which in practice means almost everyone: students waiting on scholarships, salaried professionals, and small shop owners and traders. The practical rules are simple. Treat any scheme offer that arrives as a social media advertisement as suspect until you have checked it on the official website of the concerned government department. No genuine government welfare scheme asks you to pay a registration, processing or verification fee first, and no official will ask for your Aadhaar, PAN, bank details, OTP or UPI PIN.
The most important habit is to understand what a UPI PIN actually does. A PIN authorises a payment out of your account; you never need to enter a PIN to receive money. So any collect request or PIN prompt that appears while you are supposedly being given a reward is a payment being taken from you. Read the merchant name and the amount carefully before approving any UPI request, and reject anything you did not initiate yourself.
05.What to do, and the wider signal
If you have been targeted, or have already lost money, the advisory asks you to act fast: call the national cybercrime helpline 1930 or file a complaint at cybercrime.gov.in, and inform your bank so that your UPI and net banking can be secured. Reporting quickly gives the system a chance to freeze the money before it is moved on, and it helps the police trace the accounts involved.
The advisory is also a signal of where India's AI problem is heading. As deepfake tools get cheaper, the same technology that powers entertainment and education will keep being pointed at public trust and personal savings. For readers, the defence is less about spotting every fake and more about following a few unbreakable rules about money, PINs and unsolicited offers. For India's regulators, who are preparing a consultation paper on AI regulation, fraud built on generated media is becoming a central test.
Frequently asked questions
What is the deepfake welfare scheme scam?
Fraudsters post ads on Facebook and Instagram using AI-generated videos of leaders like the PM and finance minister, promising government financial help. They then demand fake fees or push victims to approve UPI requests, taking money instead of giving it.
Do I need a UPI PIN to receive money?
No. A UPI PIN only authorises a payment out of your account. You never need to enter a PIN to receive money, so any PIN prompt while you are supposedly getting a reward is actually a payment being taken from you.
How do I report such a fraud in India?
Call the national cybercrime helpline 1930 or file a complaint at cybercrime.gov.in as soon as possible, and inform your bank to lock your UPI and net banking services.