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Tag: McAfee

  • Clickbait or click safe? McAfee warns of AI-fuelled scam storm this Prime Day

    Clickbait or click safe? McAfee warns of AI-fuelled scam storm this Prime Day

    MUMBAI: As India gears up to shop till it drops during Prime Day 2025, McAfee’s Global Prime Day Scams Study is throwing cold water on the online frenzy. With 96 per cent of Indians saying they’ll hit digital carts this year, scammers are salivating and they’ve got AI-powered cons in their arsenal.

    From over 36,000 fake Amazon websites to 75,000 scam texts impersonating delivery updates or refund alerts, McAfee Labs says cybercriminals are using deepfakes and urgency tactics to trick even the savviest shoppers.

    The report reveals a sobering stat: 71 per cent of Indians are more worried about AI-generated scams now than ever. And rightly so 80 per cent of scam victims reported losing over Rs 40,000, with young shoppers (18–24) being the most frequent targets, especially on social media.

    “Indian shoppers, who embrace online deals and social platforms, are increasingly falling prey to scams driven by urgency and persuasion,” said McAfee senior director of engineering, Pratim Mukherjee. “Prime Day is a time of excitement for Indian shoppers, but it has also become a prime target for scammers using AI to create hyper-personalized, convincing attacks that push people to click before they think. While many shoppers are taking precautions, the rise of AI-powered scams makes it more important than ever to stay vigilant.”

    Scammers are going high-tech, using deepfakes of influencers and celebrities, as well as flashy social media ads from dodgy “brands” offering too-good-to-be-true deals. One in five victims didn’t even report their losses, citing embarrassment and psychological distress, a stark reminder that online fraud cuts deeper than just wallets.

    And the fear is changing habits: 33 per cent of Indians say scam anxiety has made them abandon a purchase, and 27 per cent plan to shop less during Prime Day altogether.

    But there’s hope. Nearly half of all shoppers (49 per cent) said they’d consider using a scam detection tool to keep fraudsters at bay. As India barrels into an era of digital-first retail, the message is clear. Click with caution, and think before you tap.

  • Priyanka Chopra named India’s most dangerous celebrity online

    Priyanka Chopra named India’s most dangerous celebrity online

    Actress Priyanka Chopra has topped the list of the most dangerous celebrities in the Indian cyberspace this year followed by Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, according to a study.

    Priyanka took the mantle from Sunny Leone, who topped the list last year but dropped to the ninth position this time, in the study by security software maker McAfee.

    Kareena Kapoor and Akshay Kumar were in the top five in the study which highlights how cybercriminals use celebrities to take advantage of fans seeking more information about their idols.

    “In India where celebrities enjoy demigod status, cybercriminals often use their names to lure people to sites which host malicious software designed to compromise personal details and disrupt devices,” McAfee India Centre VP Engineering (Consumer and Mobile Business Group) Venkatasubrahmanyam Krishnapur said.

    This year, searching for a celebrity’s name, with search terms like wall paper, videos and nude pictures resulted in the highest instances of malware-laden sites. Chopra, showed 79 infected search results, while Shah Rukh was at the second spot with 75 malicious sites, Salman ranked third, with 68 infected sites.

    The top-10 list was rounded off by Saif Ali Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar, Leone and Hrithik Roshan.

  • 79% smartphone users in India use password protection

    79% smartphone users in India use password protection

    NEW DELHI: A study has shown that 79 per cent of smartphone owners in India have password protection on their devices and 86 per cent of smartphone owners store personal and intimate information on their mobile devices which necessitates password protection.

    McAfee, one of the world’s leading digital data protection company, has claimed in its study that the personal data may include passwords, bank account information, credit card numbers and personal or family photos.

    It said 98 per cent Indians delete any personal text message, photos and emails regularly while 78 per cent regularly back up the data from their devices. As high as 96 per cent of the Indians believe that their data and personal photos are safe with their partners and most of them also share passwords with each other.

    But 77 per cent of adults had their personal content leaked without their prior permission. Moreover, three out of 10 ex-partners threatened the other of exposing their personal photos online. Even though 49 per cent of the broken couples have asked the other to delete all personal content, few respond to the request.

    Despite the veracity of the situation, McAfee claims that 53 per cent Indians still plan on sending romantic photos to their partners through email, SMS or social media on the Valentine’s Day.

  • Pirated software worth $2.1 mn seized in 2006 raids

    Pirated software worth $2.1 mn seized in 2006 raids

    BANGALORE: The total value of software seized in 2006 in the more than 200 anti-piracy raids carried out across the country is $2.1 million.

    The raids were conducted by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and its member companies collectively and individually. BSA has vowed to step up enforcement actions in 2007 to further bring down piracy rates.

    Jeffrey J Hardee, BSA vice president and regional director, Asia-Pacific, said, “In over 200 actions that have been conducted by BSA and its member companies in 2006, we had found widespread use and sale of pirated software across Indian cities. With the high software piracy rate in India, it is important to highlight efforts of the industry in combating piracy through enforcement.”

    The BSA and its members have carried out raids in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Hyderabad in 2006.

    As per the findings of the BSA-IDC study of 2005, the rate of PC software piracy in 2005 was 72 per cent. According to the statistics, the Indian software industry lost revenue to the tune of of $566 million in 2005.

     
    Hardee added, “BSA adopts a three pronged strategy i.e. spreading the awareness on the perils of piracy, training and education of users including use of specialized tools like software asset management (SAM) and enforcement, in addressing software piracy around the globe. Whilst enforcement is a last resort, it is an important part of our approach as it serves to underline the seriousness of the matter.”

    Pirated software that has been seized includes those from Adobe, Autodesk, McAfee, Microsoft and Symantec.

     
    The BSA maintains a close working relationship with the government and industry associations in India such as Nasscom. According to an economic impact study conducted by IDC, if the piracy rate is reduced by 10 points by 2009, India could benefit with an additional 115,000 new IT jobs; an additional $ 5.9 billion pumped into its economy and increased tax revenues of $ 386 million.