The Central Bureau of Investigation has launched Abhay, an AI helpbot that lets you verify whether a CBI notice is genuine. It is a direct response to a scam that has taken ₹1,918 crore from ordinary Indians in a single year, and it closes a gap that fraudsters often exploit.
You can use CBI Abhay here: https://abhay.cbi.gov.in
The launch comes against the backdrop of “digital arrest scams” where criminals impersonate law enforcement or government officials and pressurise victims into transferring money under the threat of arrest or prosecution. While the scam itself is not new, advances in AI have made it easier to create convincing documents and identities that can be difficult for citizens to verify.
How Bad Has It Got
In 2022, there were 39,925 reported cases of digital arrests, with losses of ₹91 crore. By 2023, it was 60,676 cases. In 2024, cases more than doubled to 1,23,672, and money lost jumped 465 percent to ₹1,918 crore. That is a 21-fold increase in financial damage over two years.
Cases dropped sharply in 2025 by 86 percent, with losses falling to ₹644 crore. The I4C credits awareness campaigns: SMS alerts, caller tunes, mentions in Mann Ki Baat. The I4C has also blocked over 83,668 WhatsApp accounts and 3,962 Skype IDs tied to these frauds, along with 7.81 lakh SIM cards.
But ₹644 crore is not a small number, and many of the networks behind these calls are operating out of Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar which makes enforcement complicated and recovery unlikely once money has moved.
What CBI’s Abhay Does
The scam depends on the victim not being able to tell a real notice from a fake one. That gap is what Abhay is designed to close.
The CBI built it because deepfakes and AI-generated documents have made it harder for people to verify official communications on their own. If you receive something claiming to be from the CBI, you can now check it before you do anything else.
If It Happens to You
- Disconnect the call: The police do not arrest people over video calls, and no real officer will penalise you for hanging up.
- Do not transfer money: Genuine law enforcement does not work this way.
- Call someone you trust before you do anything else: The instruction to isolate yourself and to not to call family, or not to step away is the tactic.
- Verify the notice or official document: If you have received a notice claiming to be from the CBI, check it at cbi.gov.in before you respond to anyone.
You can report any cybercrime incident to the National Cybercrime Helpline by dialling 1930, or register your complaint online at cybercrime.gov.in. You can verify notices from law enforcement at abhay.cbi.gov.in.