The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), a unit under the Ministry of Home Affairs, has issued a notice to Canva, an online graphic design platform, regarding the surge in cyber fraud incidents in India linked to the platform.
Criminals have exploited Canva’s popularity to perpetrate various forms of cyber fraud, such as phishing and hosting malicious domains, as reported by Indian news channel News18. I4C has called upon Canva to swiftly address these illicit activities related to Canva cyber fraud.
Canva is a widely-used platform that provides users with a variety of templates for presentations, documents, websites, social media graphics, and more. Canva is available both as a web-based application and as a mobile app, making it accessible across various devices.
Exploiting Designing Tools for Criminal Activities
Further, the report stated that apart from Canva, “several other graphic designing tools that are available online, which can be used for similar illegal activities.” However, it is still unclear what tools and online services are part of this campaign.
Threat actors have been abusing online services for a long time but with the recent ease of access through tools like ChatGPT, Canva, and other AI-powered tools, the social engineering part of a scam has become mundane since anyone can create a phishing site with the help of these tools.
The Aftermath of the Canva Cyber Fraud
Holding companies like Canva accountable presents a legal dilemma, as they provide design capabilities without control over end usage, which may have criminal implications. However, the recent campaign revealed by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre paints a dark picture of the potential use of other graphic designing applications like Visme, VistaCreate, Prezi, and others of the same category.
The Cyber Express has reached out to Canva and the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre to learn more about this Canva cyber fraud. However, at the time of writing this, no official statement or response has been received, leaving the claims for the Canva cyber fraud standing in conflict as the organization has neither confirmed nor denied these allegations.
With a vast user base spanning 190 countries, Canva has become an attractive target for exploitation by hackers and scammers alike. Moreover, recognizing the severity of the situation and the potential misuse of this trend, “a notice has been issued to Canva, urging action against such misuse, seeking required action against such activities. This abuse of Canva’s services includes the creation of fraudulent documents, phishing materials, and other types of malicious content, reported News18.
This is an ongoing story and The Cyber Express will be closely monitoring the situation. We’ll update this post once we have more information on the alleged claims of Canva cyber frauds or any additional information from the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre.
Media Disclaimer: This report is based on internal and external research obtained through various means. The information provided is for reference purposes only, and users bear full responsibility for their reliance on it. The Cyber Express assumes no liability for the accuracy or consequences of using this information.
