Financial scams are deceptive schemes designed to trick individuals or organizations into surrendering money or valuable assets. They often involve false promises, manipulation, or deceit to obtain funds or personal information. Such scams can lead to serious financial losses and emotional distress, making it crucial to stay alert and verify any financial request or opportunity before taking action. Financial fraud typically includes deliberate concealment of facts, misappropriation of funds, identity theft, and the use of advanced digital tactics to avoid detection.

There are many types of Financial Scam, like Investment frauds involving Ponzi and chit fund schemes or deceptive crypto “pump and dump” operations promising unrealistic returns. Another, Identity theft, which is another major concern, with fraudsters misusing PAN, Aadhaar, or KYC documents to take loans or issue SIM cards. Insurance frauds occur through false claims or mis-sold policies, while loan scams often use predatory lending apps that impose exorbitant interest rates and hidden fees. Business frauds, such as fake GST invoices or manipulated financial statements, aim to cheat investors or evade taxes. Lastly, card frauds like ATM skimming, cloning, and OTP phishing continue to threaten everyday consumers.

Decode has reported how deepfake videos of celebrities such as Shah Rukh Khan, Virender Sehwag, Sonu Nigam, Bhuvan Bam, and Sudhir Chaudhary are being used to lure Indians into illegal online betting schemes. In one case, a doctored video of Shah Rukh Khan led a Bareilly resident to lose ₹33,000 after joining a fake Telegram channel named ‘Zain CBTF’. Similar AI-generated clips falsely showed celebrities endorsing betting tippers such as ‘Ikka Bhai Bombay’ and ‘Tiger Meman’. These channels promote illegal betting and crypto sites despite gambling being banned in India. Decode found that weak enforcement by platforms like Instagram and Telegram allows such scams to thrive.