In an advisory issued on October 19, 2026, the Home Ministry body said the ads promote fake government welfare schemes and cashback offers to cheat people. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has warned that fraud is rising through deepfake and edited ads on Facebook and Instagram, by using the names and faces of well-known political leaders.
“Victims are asked to pay purported fees or taxes to receive the benefits. The leaders shown include PM Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu, Tamil Nadu CM C Joseph Vijay, and Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar. The advisory also warned about calls from Pakistani numbers.
It said many victims get calls from foreign numbers starting with +92, telling them they have been randomly chosen to get money.
The advisory was issued by the National Cybercrime Threat Analytics Unit (NCTAU), a vertical under I4C, which said most of these ads run on Meta platforms and many of them come under political advertisements. In some cases, advertisements offer fake cashback rewards through scratch-card or spin-and-win contests, tricking victims into approving UPI collect requests from fraud merchants and transferring money to fraudsters,” said the advisory. “If any Public figures or their offices contact you from +92 (Pakistan) numbers, treat such calls with extreme caution and refrain from engaging,” said the advisory
I4C has advised the public to check welfare schemes on the official website of the concerned department before acting on a social media ad, and to verify the purpose and recipient of any fee asked in connection with a benefit. It has also asked people to confirm the identity of anyone claiming to represent a government department through official channels, or to visit the office in person if in doubt.
