CSPAI: A Public-Private Partnership between CERT-In and SISA

Executive Summary:

In the end of January 2024, India sees an inauguration of Ram Mandir that is a historical event to which people came culturally and spiritually. All communities in the world acknowledge this point of life as a victory and also understand how it unites people. In the midst of this genuine joy over success, there has been a disconcerting increase in malpractices designed to exploit people’s enthusiasm. This report aims at providing awareness and guidelines on how one can avoid the fraud activities that could be circulating as a celebration of Ram Mandir inauguration. An example cited here is on scams that give fake free recharge to users making them connect with the Prime Minister of India and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

False Claim:

According to the message passed in WhatsApp, as a commemoration of the inauguration of Ram Mandir  in Ayodhya in January 2024, free Rs.749 mobile recharge for three months would be offered to all Indians across India by both the PM and UP CM. The message prompts the recipients to click on the blue link provided and then recharge their numbers.

The Deceptive Scheme:

We have been informed of a circulating link (https://mahacashhback[.]in/#1705296887543) stating that it offers ₹719 recharge in honor of the Ram Mandir inauguration. It is worth mentioning that this link does not belong to any legitimate movement concerning the inauguration; public excitement and trust were used for personal gain. 

Analyzing the Fraudulent Campaign:

• Exploiting Emotional Significance:Scammers are using the cultural and religious significance of Ram mandir inauguration as a cover to fool people into participating in its fraudulent scheme. 

• Fake Recharge Offers:The broadcasted link is offering a recharge pretending that they celebrate it’s inauguration. Such offers should be handled with care and established through authorized avenues.

• Bogus Landing Pages and Comments:The landing page linked to the link typically shows images of Ram Mandir and fake comments succeeding in a make-believe appearance. Legitimate projects linked to major events rely on official and trustworthy communication mechanisms. 

• Data Collection Attempts:However, users may be asked for personal details like mobile numbers under the false pretext of winning a fake recharge. Legitimate organizations practice secure protocols for data collection and communication. 

• Sharing for Activation:After the data entry, users are prompted to share a link in other people’s posts; it is said that this will help “activate” recharge. This is a popular trick among swindlers to keep the fraud going on due to sending misleading messages. 

What do we Analyze?

• It is important to note that at this particular point, there has not been any official declaration or a proper confirmation of such offers on any official channel.
• The campaign is hosted on a third party domain instead of any official Government Website, this raised suspicion. Also the domain has been registered in very recent times.

• Domain Name: mahacashhback[.]in
• Registry Domain ID: D1FCF1B5751244310A2FA723B62CE83E9-IN
• Registrar URL: https://publicdomainregistry[.]com/
• Registrar: Endurance Digital Domain Technology LLP
• Registrar IANA ID: 801217
• Updated Date: 2024-01-18T08:09:00Z
• Creation Date: 2023-05-27T12:01:17Z
• Registry Expiry Date: 2024-05-27T12:01:17Z
• Registrant Organization: Sachin Kumar
• Registrant State/Province: Bihar
• Name Server: ns2.suspended-domain[.]com
• Name Server: ns1.suspended-domain[.]com
  

CyberPeace Advisory and Best Practices:

• Verify Authenticity:Authenticate any offers or promotions linked to the Ram Mandir inauguration through official channels. 

• Exercise Caution with Links:Do not engage with questionable URLs, in particular those without secure encryption (HTTPS). Official announcements and initiatives are disseminated through secure outlets.

• Protect Personal Information:Do not provide personal information and do not respond to unsolicited offers on nonofficial platforms. Genuine organizations employ safe and official routes for communication.

• Report Fraudulent Activity:When you see scams or fraudulent activities, immediately report them to authorities and platforms so that no one falls into their trap.

Conclusion:

In the coming days, let us be cautious from such cheating strategies which would be misutilized or create false situations. Individuals should stay informed, verify sources and defend their personal information to ensure a safer world wide web. Official and secure channels are used to communicate authentic initiatives linked with notable events. When an offer sounds too favorable or attractive, exercise due caution and check its genuineness to avoid being defrauded. Thus by undertaking the research we found this campaign to be fake.

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Executive Summary:

A photographer breaking down in tears in a viral photo is not connected to the Ram Mandir opening. Social media users are sharing a collage of images of the recently dedicated Lord Ram idol at the Ayodhya Ram Mandir, along with a claimed shot of the photographer crying at the sight of the deity. A Facebook post that posts this video says, "Even the cameraman couldn't stop his emotions." The CyberPeace Research team found that the event happened during the AFC Asian Cup football match in 2019. During a match between Iraq and Qatar, an Iraqi photographer started crying since Iraq had lost and was out of the competition.

Claims:

The photographer in the widely shared images broke down in tears at seeing the icon of Lord Ram during the Ayodhya Ram Mandir's consecration. The Collage was also shared by many users in other Social Media like X, Reddit, Facebook. An Facebook user shared and  the Caption of the Post reads, 

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Fact Check:

CyberPeace Research team reverse image searched the Photographer, and it landed to several memes from where the picture was taken, from there we landed to a Pinterest Post where it reads, “An Iraqi photographer as his team is knocked out of the Asian Cup of Nations”

Taking an indication from this we did some keyword search and tried to find the actual news behind this Image. We landed at the official Asian Cup X (formerly Twitter) handle where the image was shared 5 years ago on 24 Jan, 2019. The Post reads, “Passionate. Emotional moment for an Iraqi photographer during the Round of 16 clash against ! #AsianCup2019”

We are now confirmed about the News and the origin of this image. To be noted that while we were investigating the Fact Check we also found several other Misinformation news with the Same photographer image and different Post Captions which was all a Misinformation like this one. 

Conclusion:

The recent Viral Image of the Photographer claiming to be associated with Ram Mandir Opening is Misleading, the Image of the Photographer was a 5 years old image where the Iraqi Photographer was seen Crying during the Asian Cup Football Competition but not of recent Ram Mandir Opening. Netizens are advised not to believe and share such misinformation posts around Social Media.

• Claim: A person in the widely shared images broke down in tears at seeing the icon of Lord Ram during the Ayodhya Ram Mandir's consecration.
• Claimed on: Facebook, X, Reddit 
• Fact Check: Fake

In the vast, uncharted territories of the digital world, a sinister phenomenon is proliferating at an alarming rate. It's a world where artificial intelligence (AI) and human vulnerability intertwine in a disturbing combination, creating a shadowy realm of non-consensual pornography. This is the world of deepfake pornography, a burgeoning industry that is as lucrative as it is unsettling.

According to a recent assessment, at least 100,000 deepfake porn videos are readily available on the internet, with hundreds, if not thousands, being uploaded daily. This staggering statistic prompts a chilling question: what is driving the creation of such a vast number of fakes? Is it merely for amusement, or is there a more sinister motive at play?

Recent Trends and Developments 

An investigation by India Today’s Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) team reveals that deepfake pornography is rapidly morphing into a thriving business. AI enthusiasts, creators, and experts are extending their expertise, investors are injecting money, and even small financial companies to tech giants like Google, VISA, Mastercard, and PayPal are being misused in this dark trade. Synthetic porn has existed for years, but advances in AI and the increasing availability of technology have made it easier—and more profitable—to create and distribute non-consensual sexually explicit material. The 2023 State of Deepfake report by Home Security Heroes reveals a staggering 550% increase in the number of deepfakes compared to 2019. 

What’s the Matter with Fakes? 

But why should we be concerned about these fakes? The answer lies in the real-world harm they cause. India has already seen cases of extortion carried out by exploiting deepfake technology. An elderly man in UP’s Ghaziabad, for instance, was tricked into paying Rs 74,000 after receiving a deep fake video of a police officer. The situation could have been even more serious if the perpetrators had decided to create deepfake porn of the victim.

The danger is particularly severe for women. The 2023 State of Deepfake Report estimates that at least 98 percent of all deepfakes is porn and 99 percent of its victims are women. A study by Harvard University refrained from using the term “pornography” for creating, sharing, or threatening to create/share sexually explicit images and videos of a person without their consent. “It is abuse and should be understood as such,” it states.

Based on interviews of victims of deepfake porn last year, the study said 63 percent of participants talked about experiences of “sexual deepfake abuse” and reported that their sexual deepfakes had been monetised online. It also found “sexual deepfake abuse to be particularly harmful because of the fluidity and co-occurrence of online offline experiences of abuse, resulting in endless reverberations of abuse in which every aspect of the victim’s life is permanently disrupted”.

Creating deepfake porn is disturbingly easy. There are largely two types of deepfakes: one featuring faces of humans and another featuring computer-generated hyper-realistic faces of non-existing people. The first category is particularly concerning and is created by superimposing faces of real people on existing pornographic images and videos—a task made simple and easy by AI tools.

During the investigation, platforms hosting deepfake porn of stars like Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone, Jennifer Aniston, Aishwarya Rai, Rashmika Mandanna to TV actors and influencers like Aanchal Khurana, Ahsaas Channa, and Sonam Bajwa and Anveshi Jain were encountered. It takes a few minutes and as little as Rs 40 for a user to create a high-quality fake porn video of 15 seconds on platforms like FakeApp and FaceSwap.

The Modus Operandi 

These platforms brazenly flaunt their business association and hide behind frivolous declarations such as: the content is “meant solely for entertainment” and “not intended to harm or humiliate anyone”. However, the irony of these disclaimers is not lost on anyone, especially when they host thousands of non-consensual deepfake pornography.

As fake porn content and its consumers surge, deepfake porn sites are rushing to forge collaborations with generative AI service providers and have integrated their interfaces for enhanced interoperability. The promise and potential of making quick bucks have given birth to step-by-step guides, video tutorials, and websites that offer tools and programs, recommendations, and ratings.

Nearly 90 per cent of all deepfake porn is hosted by dedicated platforms that charge for long-duration premium fake content and for creating porn—of whoever a user wants, and take requests for celebrities. To encourage them further, they enable creators to monetize their content.

One such website, Civitai, has a system in place that pays “rewards” to creators of AI models that generate “images of real people'', including ordinary people. It also enables users to post AI images, prompts, model data, and LoRA (low-rank adaptation of large language models) files used in generating the images. Model data designed for adult content is gaining great popularity on the platform, and they are not only targeting celebrities. Common people are equally susceptible.

Access to premium fake porn, like any other content, requires payment. But how can a gateway process payment for sexual content that lacks consent? It seems financial institutes and banks are not paying much attention to this legal question. During the investigation, many such websites accepting payments through services like VISA, Mastercard, and Stripe were found.

Those who have failed to register/partner with these fintech giants have found a way out. While some direct users to third-party sites, others use personal PayPal accounts to manually collect money in the personal accounts of their employees/stakeholders, which potentially violates the platform's terms of use that ban the sale of “sexually oriented digital goods or content delivered through a digital medium.”

 Among others, the MakeNude.ai web app – which lets users “view any girl without clothing” in “just a single click” – has an interesting method of circumventing restrictions around the sale of non-consensual pornography. The platform has partnered with Ukraine-based Monobank and Dublin’s BetaTransfer Kassa which operates in “high-risk markets”.

BetaTransfer Kassa admits to serving “clients who have already contacted payment aggregators and received a refusal to accept payments, or aggregators stopped payments altogether after the resource was approved or completely freeze your funds”. To make payment processing easy, MakeNude.ai seems to be exploiting the donation ‘jar’ facility of Monobank, which is often used by people to donate money to Ukraine to support it in the war against Russia.

The Indian Scenario 

India currently is on its way to design dedicated legislation to address issues arising out of deepfakes. Though existing general laws requiring such platforms to remove offensive content also apply to deepfake porn. However, persecution of the offender and their conviction is extremely difficult for law enforcement agencies as it is a boundaryless crime and sometimes involves several countries in the process.

A victim can register a police complaint under provisions of Section 66E and Section 66D of the IT Act, 2000. Recently enacted Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 aims to protect the digital personal data of users. Recently Union Government issued an advisory to social media intermediaries to identify misinformation and deepfakes. Comprehensive law promised by Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnav will be able to address these challenges.

Conclusion 

In the end, the unsettling dance of AI and human vulnerability continues in the dark web of deepfake pornography. It's a dance that is as disturbing as it is fascinating, a dance that raises questions about the ethical use of technology, the protection of individual rights, and the responsibility of financial institutions. It's a dance that we must all be aware of, for it is a dance that affects us all.

References

• https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/deepfake-porn-artificial-intelligence-women-fake-photos-2471855-2023-12-04
• https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/the-legal-net-to-trap-peddlers-of-deepfakes-101701520933515.html
• https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/with-deepfakes-getting-better-and-more-alarming-seeing-is-no-longer-believing/