Bombay HC Directs Swift Action Against Online Fraud Racket Impersonating DBS Bank India

Mumbai, April 30: The Bombay High Court has directed WhatsApp and a domain registrar to act swiftly against an alleged fraud racket impersonating DBS Bank India and duping investors.

Bank seeks urgent relief

Justice Sharmila Deshmukh passed the order on an interim plea by the bank, which sought urgent action against fraudulent WhatsApp groups and fake investment websites misusing its name and the profile of its CEO and Managing Director, Rajat Varma.

DBS alleged a coordinated impersonation campaign in which unknown persons posed as its officials, created WhatsApp groups using the bank’s name and Varma’s photograph, and lured victims to invest via fraudulent trading platforms and apps.

Fake documents allegedly circulated

The fraudsters allegedly circulated forged documents, including fake identity cards, a fabricated certificate of incorporation, and a counterfeit SEBI broker certificate.

Invoking the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, the bank argued that intermediaries must act promptly once such activity is flagged and maintain effective grievance redressal systems.

Court rejects blanket defence

WhatsApp submitted that end-to-end encryption prevents it from accessing message content and opposed blanket blocking orders, suggesting case-by-case directions after specific groups are identified.

Rejecting this, the Court held intermediaries cannot insist on prior court orders and must take reasonable steps within 36 hours in cases of impersonation and fraud. It stressed the need for proactive, time-bound intervention.

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Immediate action ordered

The Court directed intermediaries to remove or disable fraudulent groups, profiles, and content upon receiving details such as screenshots and account identifiers from DBS, along with an undertaking disowning the content.

It also restrained unidentified (John Doe) defendants from using “DBS Bank India Limited” or deceptively similar names, and directed Gname.com to suspend websites falsely claiming links with the bank, including indiadbs.me and dbsindia.vip.

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