Cybersecurity researchers have identified a sharp rise in PAN card–related fraud in India, where stolen Permanent Account Numbers are being misused to open fraudulent bank accounts, obtain illegal loans, and divert government subsidies. Analysts report that these activities have resulted in large-scale financial losses and long-term identity damage for affected individuals. The surge has coincided with increasingly digitised KYC processes, with authorities flagging more than 1.2 million suspicious PANs linked to shell entities in 2025, enabling benami transactions and complex money-laundering schemes. Investigations show that PAN details are commonly obtained through phishing emails posing as tax refund notices, compromised tax-filing applications, and data leaks from poorly secured portals. Criminals often combine these details with forged Aadhaar documents and AI-generated images to create mule accounts across banks and fintech platforms. Underground markets reportedly sell bulk PAN data at low prices, supporting scams such as fake investment schemes and fraudulent GST refunds that have disproportionately impacted retirees and small businesses. Law enforcement actions in cities such as Mumbai and Bengaluru have uncovered networks processing thousands of illicit transactions daily, highlighting the scale of PAN misuse within cybercrime operations. Researchers warn that weak verification practices and widespread sharing of PAN details on social media and unverified websites have worsened the problem. The growing use of AI tools to generate realistic synthetic identities has made fraudulent documentation harder to detect, even during manual reviews. Analysts caution that without stronger safeguards, such abuse could further undermine trust in formal financial systems.

To reduce risk, individuals are advised to avoid sharing PAN details through unsolicited emails, messages, or forms, verify requests only through official government portals, and regularly monitor tax and financial accounts for suspicious activity. Prompt reporting of anomalies to tax authorities or cybercrime units can help limit damage. For organizations handling PAN data, stronger onboarding checks, anomaly detection, and rapid account freezing mechanisms are recommended to contain fraud in real time.

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