oppn parties Cybercriminals Have Weaponised the Festive Season. Vigilance Cannot Take a Holiday.

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  • Bengal CM Suvendhu asks policemen to note down names of those immersing Durga idols as he said only Sanatanis can touch the idol
  • CJP leaders made a promise in court that they will not call for protests at the Jantar Mantar from now onwards
  • The Supreme Court stayed for one week the investigation into the alleged CMRL-Exalogic payments case involving former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family members. The court allowed them to challenge the order directing registration of an FIR before a Kerala High Court division bench; the temporary stay does not quash the FIR
  • Fresh violence intensified in Manipur on Wednesday as police used tear gas against Meitei protesters in Imphal, while a Kuki civil-society group alleged that several houses had been torched in Khoikai village, Kamjong district. Police said three Kuki-Zo men arrested over Monday's killing of three Meitei firewood collectors were active members of the Kuki National Front (N), a claim disputed by local Kuki groups
  • A Special Executive Magistrate in Delhi ordered the release of Cockroach Janta Party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka after accepting their sureties. The order followed their detention over a protest at Jantar Mantar; the Delhi High Court had declined to entertain their separate challenge to the extension of their custody
  • US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Jamnagar on Wednesday to focus on energy cooperation involving the giant refinery operated by Reliance Industries. Discussions included the possibility of Indian refiners processing more Venezuelan crude as Washington seeks to diversify energy supplies and address global supply disruptions
  • The Reserve Bank of India rejected all bids in its planned ₹23,000-crore Treasury bill auction on Wednesday, signalling reluctance to accept the higher yields demanded by investors amid tightening banking-system liquidity. The surplus had fallen to ₹48,304 crore on Tuesday, its lowest level in three months, prompting continued liquidity-management operations
  • Heavy overnight rainfall led district administrations to close schools on Wednesday in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu and Ranipet in Tamil Nadu. Meenambakkam recorded 12 cm of rain and Nungambakkam 11 cm by 6 am, while meteorological officials warned of further heavy rainfall in parts of the state
  • India's infrastructure output grew 7.9% year-on-year in September, the strongest increase under the current data series, driven by electricity generation, refinery products, iron ore and coal. Cumulative growth during April-September reached 5.1%, compared with 2.5% in the corresponding period last year.
  • The ₹3.2-billion-dollar-equivalent public offering of Jio Platforms was subscribed 3.16 times by the end of its first day on Wednesday, making it India's largest IPO. The offering is the first public share sale from the Reliance conglomerate in two decades, and institutional investors filled their reserved portion within minutes of bidding opening.
  • The Indian rupee closed 0.5% stronger at ₹94.46 against the US dollar on Wednesday, its strongest closing level since early September. Foreign inflows linked to the Jio Platforms IPO and Reserve Bank intervention supported the currency, although higher oil prices and falling share prices limited its gains
  • Indian equity markets ended lower on Wednesday, with the BSE Sensex falling 143.21 points, or 0.19%, to 73,709.69, and the Nifty 50 declining 77.60 points, or 0.34%, to 22,811.35. Rising crude prices, which moved above $110 a barrel, weighed on investor sentiment despite the strong initial demand for Jio Platforms' IPO
  • The Finance Ministry's nationwide financial-inclusion campaign began on Wednesday and is scheduled to run until December 31, covering 2.70 lakh gram panchayats and urban local bodies. Banks are to organise enrolment camps, facilitate Aadhaar seeding for the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Atal Pension Yojana, and help customers update nominations in savings accounts
  • Indian athletes won five gold medals at the Asian Para Games on Wednesday, with Sachin Khilari winning the men's F46 shot put, Simran Sharma the women's 100m T12, Dilip Gavit the men's 100m T45, Praveen Kumar the men's T64 high jump and Ayush Verma the men's F53 shot put. India's medal tally reached 62 by Wednesday evening, including 14 gold medals, leaving the country fifth in the standings
  • Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav join calls for release of CJP leaders. The two opposition leaders joined demands for the release of Cockroach Janta Party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, who are challenging their continued custody
Major data leak reported at SBI, customer data reportedly available on the dark web /////// Calcutta HC denies permisiion for a sitting High Court judge to head Chor Bagan Durga Pujo stampede probe
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Cybercriminals Have Weaponised the Festive Season. Vigilance Cannot Take a Holiday.

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2026-09-23 02:31:46

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

Old scams do not die. They return every year, repackaged for the calendar. The Times of India's report on cyber fraud ahead of Durga Puja proves this once again. A Middleton Street resident lost Rs 1 crore. Another victim lost Rs 3.7 lakh. Both fell for tactics that police have flagged repeatedly, yet both handed over their banking credentials without a second thought.

The pattern is familiar. Fraudsters exploit festive excitement. They dangle reward points, discount coupons, and food delivery offers. They impersonate bank officials, social media acquaintances, and even delivery platforms. The methods are old. The packaging changes each season.

The Modus Operandi Is Not Sophisticated. The Complacency Is.

Consider the Middleton Street case. A fraudster posed as a banking representative, targeted a resident, and walked away with Rs 1 crore. Consider Belegharia, where a scammer created a duplicate Facebook profile of an acquaintance, messaged the victim, and extracted banking details under the guise of verification. Neither case required advanced technology. Both required only a moment of trust from the victim.

This is the uncomfortable truth. Cyber fraud in India does not succeed because the criminals are brilliant. It succeeds because citizens remain willing to click unverified links, share OTPs, and trust unsolicited calls claiming urgency. Police have published safety tips year after year. OTPs are not to be shared. Bank keys are private. Unfamiliar delivery orders are not to be accepted grossly discounted. Yet the losses continue to mount, festival after festival.

A 100% Waiver on Vigilance Is Not an Option

The report also notes a separate matter, the state government's decision to waive 100% of interest and 10% of the principal on defaulted property tax dues in Howrah, ahead of civic body elections. Citizens should note the timing. Governance decisions cluster around elections. Cybercriminals cluster around festivals. Both exploit predictable human behaviour, whether that behaviour is electoral gratitude or festive haste.

The lesson for ordinary citizens is this. Institutional protection, whether from banks, police, or telecom operators, will always lag behind the ingenuity of fraud networks. The final safeguard sits with the individual. No reward point is worth a shared OTP. No festive discount justifies clicking an unverified link. No banking representative calls to verify credentials over the phone.

The Only Durable Defence Is Habitual Scepticism

Awareness campaigns matter, but campaigns fade once printed. What does not fade is a fixed personal rule: never share financial credentials over a call, message, or unfamiliar app, regardless of who claims to be asking. This rule must become as automatic as locking one's front door.

Durga Puja will bring celebration to Kolkata. It will also bring, as it has every year, a fresh wave of digital predators dressed as reward schemes and delivery notifications. The festival cannot be allowed to lower anyone's guard. Vigilance is not a seasonal virtue. It is a permanent discipline, and this week's headlines are proof of what happens when that discipline lapse.

 

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