Punjab National Bank (PNB), one of India's largest state-run lenders, has issued a formal caution to its customers against a rising wave of AI-enabled cyber frauds, including voice cloning, deepfakes, and phishing attacks. The advisory comes in October 2026, observed nationally as Cyber Security Awareness Month, amid a documented surge in such incidents across the country.

What PNB's Warning Covers

PNB MD and CEO Ashok Chandra said fraudsters are deploying increasingly sophisticated tools to make their attempts appear credible. 'Many cyber frauds today exploit human behaviour, particularly trust, fear, urgency and everyday digital habits. Fraudsters may imitate the voice or appearance of your family members, friends, or trusted persons and create a false emergency to seek an urgent transfer of money,' Chandra said.

He added that fraudulent emails, SMS messages and digital communications can now appear highly personalised, mimicking genuine bank correspondence almost exactly. These messages are designed to trigger panic and push recipients into acting without verification — a tactic that has proven effective against customers of all age groups.

The Broader Cyber Threat Landscape

The PNB warning reflects a wider pattern across the Indian banking sector. Both public and private sector banks are ramping up IT and cybersecurity investments to counter threats from advanced artificial intelligence, quantum computing vulnerabilities, and tightening regulatory mandates from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The convergence of AI-generated content and social engineering has made fraud detection significantly harder for ordinary users.

Pune: Retired Man Loses ₹4.81 Lakh in Pension Card Scam

In a case that illustrates the scale of the threat, a 70-year-old man in Pune's Baner area was defrauded of ₹4.81 lakh through a WhatsApp-based pension card registration scam. The victim, Dilip Eknath Waikar, a resident of Pashan, received a message between 8 and 9 September prompting him to click a link and enter his bank account details, after which the funds were fraudulently withdrawn.

A case was subsequently registered at Baner police station under Sections 318(4) and 318(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act. No arrests have been made so far, according to officials.

Pattern of Targeting Senior Citizens

The Pune case is not isolated. In a strikingly similar incident the previous month, a 72-year-old retired bank employee in Ahmedabad's Makarba area lost ₹5 lakh after clicking on a Facebook advertisement purportedly offering pension card services. The repeated targeting of senior citizens through pension-related lures points to an organised fraud network exploiting a demographic that may be less familiar with digital verification practices.

What Customers Should Do

Banking officials and cybersecurity experts consistently advise customers never to click unsolicited links, share OTPs, or transfer funds in response to urgent requests — regardless of how familiar the voice or message appears. Customers encountering suspicious contact are advised to call their bank's official helpline and report incidents to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at cybercrime.gov.in or dial 1930.

With AI tools becoming cheaper and more accessible, the frequency and sophistication of such attacks are expected to increase, making awareness and verification habits the first line of defence.