TheInterviewTimes.com | February 21, 2026 | 06:35 PM IST | New Delhi
AI voice cloning scams defraud families in Delhi and Indore, while celebrity deepfakes prompt court orders for Kajol and Asha Bhosle. India’s 2026 IT rules mandate 3-hour takedowns. Latest cases and prevention tips revealed.
Surge in AI-Driven Family Scams
Fraudsters now exploit AI voice cloning to target families with emotional blackmail. A 65-year-old Delhi woman lost Rs 2 lakh in February 2026 after scammers cloned her daughter’s sobbing voice to fake a kidnapping and demand instant UPI payment. Police confirmed the voice matched perfectly, highlighting how scammers harvest audio from social media for hyper-realistic clones.
In Indore, a school teacher transferred nearly Rs 1 lakh in January 2026 when fraudsters mimicked her cousin’s voice claiming a medical emergency, sending QR codes for quick payments. Madhya Pradesh police identified this as their first verified AI voice-modulation case, with three Rs 30,000 transfers and one Rs 7,500 before the victim was blocked.
McAfee’s State of the Scamiverse 2026 report notes 47 percent of Indian adults faced or knew AI voice scam victims, nearly double the global 25 percent average. Indians lost Rs 19,813 crore to cyber fraud in 2025 per Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre data, with 77 percent tied to investment schemes amplified by AI.
Celebrity Deepfakes Spark Court Battles
Bollywood stars secure urgent judicial relief against deepfake exploitation. On February 20, 2026, Delhi High Court Justice Jyoti Singh granted Kajol interim protection for her personality rights, banning unauthorized use of her name, image, voice, or likeness in AI deepfakes and ordering removal of pornographic content.
The Bombay High Court earlier protected singer Asha Bhosle from AI voice cloning by platforms like Mayk Inc., ruling voice as a core identity element under performer rights in the Copyright Act. Similar orders shield Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and others from digital misuse.
Deepfake endorsements drive massive losses. A Bengaluru woman lost Rs 3.75 crore between February and April 2025 to scammers using Sadhguru’s AI-generated video for fake trading platforms, realizing the fraud only when withdrawals failed.
Campus Horror Fuels Regulatory Push
The October 2025 IIIT Naya Raipur scandal exposed deepfake dangers in education. A 21-year-old student created over 1,000 explicit AI images of 36 female classmates using their social media photos, leading to his expulsion and arrest after files were found on his devices.
This incident accelerated policy response, with experts warning of enterprise risks from unchecked deepfakes.
IT Rules 2026 Mandate Swift Action
India’s toughest deepfake laws activate today. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2026, notified February 10 by MeitY, require platforms to remove unlawful synthetic content in three hours on orders, or two hours for non-consensual imagery.
Platforms must deploy AI detection tools, label generated content, and embed traceability metadata, or lose safe harbor under IT Act Section 79. Non-compliance invites criminal penalties, reshaping moderation for all social media in India.
Protecting Yourself from AI Fraud
Verify urgent calls with video or in-person checks, even from family. Enable two-step verification on apps and avoid QR code payments under pressure. Report to cybercrime.gov.in immediately. As regulations tighten, awareness remains key to countering these borderless threats.
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