AI-ENABLED SYNTHETIC IDENTITY FRAUD AND ONLINE VICTIMIZATION

The swift emergence of generative Artificial Intelligence has further fueled the growth of AI-enabled synthetic identity fraud, wherein fraudsters leverage real, stolen, or fabricated personally identifiable information (PII) with deepfakes, voice clones, and AI-generated documents to build convincing fictitious personas. This complex cybercrime results in significant financial, psychological, and reputational damage to individuals and organizations, while threatening India’s digital economy. This paper contends that India’s current penal framework, largely governed by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and the Information Technology Act, 2000, is ineffective in dealing with the distinctive challenges posed by AI-enabled synthetic identity, such as issues in determining mens rea, assigning liability, and affording adequate relief to victims of this complex cybercrime. The paper will examine the current legislative framework in dealing with identity-based cybercrimes, identify loopholes in existing laws, and suggest a new framework for dealing with this complex cybercrime, which poses a threat to India’s digital economy