The arrests mark a significant escalation in the government’s scrutiny of India’s online gaming industry

Kaspersky reports that in 2025, cybercriminals continued to use seasonal shopping periods to distribute phishing pages and fraudulent promotions aimed at collecting personal and payment information. Gaming platforms also remained a prominent target throughout the year, a press release said.

Kaspersky Security Network (KSN) reports that from January through October 2025 it blocked 6,394,854 phishing attempts impersonating online stores, banks and payment systems, with 48.2% targeting online shoppers. Over the same period, the company identified more than 20 million attempted attacks on gaming platforms, including 18.56 million abusing Discord. Black Friday-related spam remained a major driver: in the first two weeks of November, Kaspersky detected 146,535 spam emails mentioning seasonal sales, including 2,572 tied to Single’s Day. Many reused templates from previous years and impersonated Amazon, Walmart and Alibaba. Phishing abusing entertainment platforms also surged, with 801,148 Netflix-themed and 576,873 Spotify-related attempts recorded in 2025.

Threats extended beyond e-commerce to gaming systems such as Steam, PlayStation and Xbox, with 2,054,336 phishing attempts detected. Malware disguised as gaming software also rose significantly to 20,188,897 attempted infections, with Discord representing 18,556,566 detections, more than 14 times higher than in 2024.

Technical Breakdown: How Attacks Unfold

Phishing and financial scams were among the most impactful threats observed. Kaspersky’s telemetry shows that 48.2% of shopping-related attacks targeted online shoppers, a notable increase from last year.

These campaigns involve convincing fake websites that mimic well-known stores, payment pages, and even banking interfaces.

Attackers use cloned designs, realistic-looking spam emails, and enticing Black Friday discounts to trick users into giving up personal credentials or payment information.

Amazon-themed phishing attacks peaked at over 600,000 attempts, while other major brands like Alibaba, eBay, and Walmart also saw thousands of impersonation campaigns.

In addition to retail platforms, cybercriminals targeted subscription-based services such as Netflix and Spotify, exploiting their popularity during sales periods.

Staggering Attack Numbers Revealed

Between January and October 2025, Kaspersky identified nearly 4 million phishing attacks targeting users of online stores, payment systems, and banks. The findings paint a concerning picture of the current threat landscape:

48.21% of financial phishing attacks targeted online shoppers, up significantly from 37.5% in 2024.

Over 146,000 Black Friday-themed spam messages were blocked in just the first two weeks of November.

More than 2 million phishing attacks specifically targeted online gaming platforms.

Approximately 1.09 million banking Trojan attacks were recorded during the 2025 Black Friday season.

Gaming platform attacks surged to over 20 million attempts, with Discord-disguised attacks increasing 14-fold year-over-year.

The arrests mark a significant escalation in the government’s scrutiny of India’s online gaming industry, which has been under the scanner for alleged tax evasion, dubious payment flows, and compliance failures. Both WinZO and Gameskraft have previously faced regulatory challenges, including GST disputes and questions over the legality of their gaming formats.

The ED is expected to summon additional executives and financial partners as the investigation widens. Meanwhile, the arrests have sent shockwaves across the booming real-money gaming sector, raising concerns about tighter regulations and increased enforcement action in the months ahead.

By - Aaradhay Sharma