I4C flags fake govt scheme ads on Meta, calls from Pakistan numbers

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has warned that fraud is rising through deepfake and edited ads on Facebook and Instagram, by using the names and faces of well-known political leaders. In an advisory issued on October 19, 2026, the Home Ministry body said the ads promote fake government welfare schemes and cashback offers to cheat people.

The advisory was issued by the National Cybercrime Threat Analytics Unit (NCTAU), a vertical under I4C, which said most of these ads run on Meta platforms and many of them come under political advertisements.