India orders removal of Google Firebase accounts after spotting scam pattern

BENGALURU, Aug 21 : India has directed Google to shut down hundreds of accounts on its Firebase web development platform after finding a pattern of criminals misusing the service to impersonate major banks and defraud people, according to government notices and a source familiar with the matter.Online scams have become one of India's most pressing law enforcement challenges, with Indians losing nearly $2.4 billion in alleged cyber fraud in 2025, according to government data. For years, the government has gone after scammers by ordering their websites removed.Of late, however, Indian officials have noticed a "pattern" that scammers are using the Google's app and website development tool Firebase, which has millions of users the world over, according to the source with direct knowledge of th