Govt Urges Google To Remove Firebase Pages Impersonating Banks, Report Says

New Delhi: Authorities have instructed Google to remove several Firebase web development accounts that were mimicking websites and mobile apps of prominent public and private-sector banks and other financial institutions. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs issued notices following their discovery.

These fraudulent sites were utilized to deceive users with enticing reward-point redemption offers and credit-card limit upgrades. A Google spokesperson confirmed that the company adheres to "strict policies" prohibiting the use of its services for phishing, malware, or financial fraud. Firebase, part of Google Cloud, is extensively used for developing and hosting mobile apps and websites, and seven of the 57 flagged Firebase pages were phishing pages, impersonating banks like State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank.

The other sites allegedly collected stolen data, including credit-card details and one-time passwords. Data from the government indicates that Indian users suffered a loss of Rs 22,500 crore due to digital and cyber fraud in 2025 alone, with nearly Rs 52,000 crore lost over the past five years. The takedown requests are part of a broader regulatory effort to combat digital-payment frauds.

The Reserve Bank of India has implemented additional fraud-prevention measures, including enhanced authentication and system-security standards, and introduced a compensation mechanism for small-value fraudulent transactions, providing eligible victims with a one-time payment of up to Rs 25,000 for losses up to Rs 50,000.