Cybersecurity Alert: Indian Banking Sector Faces Surge in AI-Powered Phishing Attacks

The Reserve Bank of India has issued an urgent advisory to all banks and payment service providers following a 400% spike in AI-powered phishing attacks targeting Indian consumers. The attacks use sophisticated AI-generated voice calls, deepfake videos of bank officials, and hyper-personalised email scams.

"These aren't your typical Nigerian prince emails," said RBI Deputy Governor Michael Patra. "The attackers are using AI to clone the voices of actual bank relationship managers and creating video calls that are virtually indistinguishable from real ones."

CERT-IN (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) reported that over 2.3 lakh complaints were filed in February alone, with total losses exceeding ₹940 crore. The attacks primarily targeted UPI users in the 25-45 age group through WhatsApp and Telegram.

The RBI has mandated that all banks implement multi-factor authentication for transactions above ₹10,000 and has launched a nationwide awareness campaign with the tagline "Agar Sahi Lag Raha Hai, Tab Bhi Verify Karo" (Even if it looks right, verify it).