Cybersecurity

Attackers are running Google search ads for "claude mac" whose destination is a genuine Bing search result. The chain passes through a compromised retail site to a fake Claude download page that copies a malicious terminal command to the clipboard. Push Security calls the technique "Adception": it slips past Google's ad review and link scanners by showing them only trusted domains, and serves the payload only to victims who arrive through the exact path.

CERT-In has issued a critical advisory (CIAD-2026-0046) warning that attackers are stealing payment API credentials from NBFCs, fintechs, payment providers and wallets, then triggering fund transfers directly to mule accounts. It flags the possible use of AI-assisted offensive frameworks. The alert follows a wave of AI-assisted API breaches at seven South Korean financial firms that exposed data on more than 67,000 people. In both cases attackers went through weakly guarded side APIs.

Impersonation through fake brand stores, cloned support pages and scam ads is one of the fastest-growing forms of social media fraud. Meta removed over 159 million scam ads in 2025, and the FTC recorded $2.1 billion in reported social media scam losses for Americans. Meta's Brand Rights Protection tool gives verified trademark owners AI-assisted monitoring, bulk reporting and allowlisting to find and remove fakes on Facebook and Instagram.

India’s Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) held S4C Connect, a workshop on cryptocurrency and darkweb crime, in New Delhi on 8 October 2026. Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, I4C CEO Rajesh Kumar, state and UT cybercrime chiefs and industry experts attended. The aim was to tighten coordination between the Centre and states as crypto laundering and darkweb markets drive more fraud.

Japan’s JPCERT/CC has warned of a run of intrusions around September 2026 that leaked large volumes of personal data from Japanese organisations. Attackers scanned for known flaws, reverse-engineered mobile apps to find hidden API endpoints and keys, abused internal admin APIs and NoSQL injection, and exploited the Metabase SQL injection flaw CVE-2026-72898. Internal BI tools and staff systems were also hit.

Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested a 36-year-old Madhya Pradesh software developer accused of building and selling 2,805 malicious Android APKs to fraud gangs. Police link the apps to 9,673 victims nationwide and about ₹150 crore in fraud. The case shows how ready-made malware is sold as a service outside Google Play.

Pakistan’s National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency says its Multan unit has arrested two men allegedly involved in registering and using multiple fake SIM cards linked to financial scams. Officers recovered two mobile phones. The case fits a wider pattern of “mule SIMs” used to hide the real callers behind fraud.

India’s Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has warned that fake AI trading ads on social media are being used to hijack Instagram accounts. Victims are asked to fill in a sign-up form and enter a “verification code” that is actually their Instagram login code. Citing Meta, I4C said 16,000 such cases surfaced in one month.

Police in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, have arrested a man accused of misusing a point-of-sale agent ID and people’s biometrics to activate SIM cards in their names and sell them on. Officers seized 25 SIM cards, five phones and a motorcycle. Such “mule SIMs” hide the real user and are widely used in cyber fraud.

India’s UP Police have arrested two people and placed one juvenile under watch in an alleged online gaming and betting fraud that used fake social media ads, WhatsApp and WATI groups, and sites including Mahadev Game, Lotus Game, MY99 and MY REDDY 99. Officers seized ₹15 lakh in cash and digital evidence of crores in transactions.

NCCIA Lahore detained more than three dozen people in raids on alleged illegal call centres in Faisal Town and Johar Town, the agency said on 4 October 2026. The lineup photo shows 38 people besides three officers. The centres allegedly targeted people abroad with fake mobile upgrades and network packages, using dial-up software.

Wathoda police arrested Antariksh Mishra, 19, and Amit Patil, 23, after a 27-year-old hospital technician was allegedly lured through a gay dating app to an isolated spot near Bahadura Phata, threatened with a knife and robbed at an ATM, Lokmat Samachar reported on 4 October 2026. The case is a dating-app contact that moved offline into extortion.