In December, an 86-year-old woman in Mumbai got a call. The voice on the other end claimed to be a police officer, telling her she's an accused in a money laundering case. Over the next three months, the scammers—posing as law enforcement—drained her of Rs 20 crores, slowly emptying out her entire savings.

When Mumbai Police investigated, they found that one of the accused was part of an international fraud network, operating through Telegram. A group of 13 foreign nationals was involved, sharing details of Indian bank accounts with masterminds based abroad.

Telegram, as we now know, is a breeding ground for all kinds of illegal activities—from child exploitation to financial scams. Its privacy features, like end-to-end encryption and self-destructing messages, offer security not just to users, but to criminals as well. With zero communication or transparency from the platform, law enforcement often finds itself hitting a dead end. But Telegram is not an outlier.

Look around. Scams are everywhere. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, LinkedIn—there’s no escape. You open WhatsApp and see a message from your bank urging you to update your KYC details. A recruiter on LinkedIn offers you a dream job. A Facebook ad promises an interest-free loan. An Instagram video of Shah Rukh Khan endorsing a betting service pops up. It all seems routine—until it isn’t.

And they’ve been at this for a while. WhatsApp, for instance, was instrumental in the 2017 fake news epidemic that led to mob violence in India. Now, it’s a goldmine for fraudsters running fake KYC verification scams, impersonating banks, and sending “work from home” money-making offers that sound tempting.

Facebook? A whole different beast. Fake loan advertisements, “pregnancy job” scams, and child modeling traps have cost people their savings. The most frustrating part? Meta’s inaction. Despite repeated reports, these scams continue for months, raking in money before the fraudsters disappear.

Some scams are even more insidious, preying on trust. Like the case of “Laila Rao”, an alleged investor who promised homemakers financial independence. Pranati, a woman from Kochi, stumbled upon a video of Sadhguru endorsing Laila’s scheme. She took the bait—after all, why would Sadhguru lie? The video was an AI deepfake, and by the time she realised it, she had lost Rs 86,000. Social stigma kept her from reporting the fraud. The scammers knew who their targets should be. 

The Laila Rao scam was just one example of how AI is weaponised for deception. Elsewhere, a vegetable dealer in Bareilly lost his savings after watching a deepfake video of Shah Rukh Khan endorsed betting service. AI-generated scams featuring Virender Sehwag and Sonu Nigam have flooded platforms, convincing people to gamble their money away.

At Decode, we’ve been tracking fake Meta ads that use AI voice clones to push everything from get-rich-quick schemes to betting apps, trading platforms, and even diabetes drugs. The scale of fraud is growing, but are platforms catching up? Not really.

For weeks, we’ve been investigating how YouTube content creators collaborate with scammers—a story that will be out soon on Decode.

And then there’s Bobby Kataria, a YouTube star turned fraudster. Under the guise of motivational videos and fitness advice, he lured job seekers with promises of overseas employment. The reality? Many weren’t just scammed—they were trafficked abroad and forced to work in cyber fraud call centers in Laos and Myanmar. Some had no choice but to become scammers themselves to survive. Last week, 540 Indians were rescued from such operations in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. How many are still trapped? No one knows.

Every week, we release videos to alert people about emerging scams and how to stay safe. But what I keep hearing from victims is this: even after filing complaints with banks and police, many never recover their money.

Why is the burden always on the victim? Why do public service announcements only tell us to “stay vigilant” instead of demanding accountability?

We should be asking tougher questions. The system is broken. Investigative resources for cyber frauds are limited. Economic desperation drives people into scams, both as victims and perpetrators. And at the heart of it all, social media platforms remain unregulated enablers. They aren’t just being used to scam people—they’re actively recruiting new scammers.

Shouldn’t we be outraging a lot more?

This weekend, I’ll be in Bangalore for the MisinfoCon India — talking on scams and listening to technologists and policy makers on how they are trying to make the Internet a less toxic place. You can register here to attend. 

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