Mumbai, June 8, 2026 — Helo.ai, India's leading AI-powered cloud communication platform by Vivaconnect, today announced that its Founder and Managing Director, Vikram Raichura, has been featured as a key expert commentator in The Indian Express's latest investigative piece on cybersecurity: "Second theft: How scammers use a lost iPhone to steal your identity."

Published on June 8, 2026, as part of The Indian Express's flagship "The Safe Side" series by Deputy Copy Editor and certified fact-checker Ankita Deshkar, the article exposes a sophisticated phishing campaign identified by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The campaign targets iPhone users whose devices have been lost or stolen, exploiting their urgency to recover their devices through fraudulent "Apple Support" messages.

Expert Insight at the Intersection of Communication Security and User Psychology

Vikram Raichura was quoted extensively throughout the piece, providing critical analysis on why these "second theft" attacks—where physical device theft is followed by digital identity theft are so effective.

"The scam works because it shows up at exactly the wrong moment. A message claiming the phone has been found feels credible because it's arriving when the victim wants it to be true."
— Vikram Raichura, Founder & MD, Helo.ai by Vivaconnect

Raichura's commentary cuts to the core of the attack vector: psychological manipulation timed to exploit vulnerability. He explains that once credentials and OTPs are shared, attackers gain access to the entire Apple ecosystem—iCloud backups, photos, contacts, stored passwords, and connected devices turning a lost phone into a compromised digital identity.

"Once credentials and verification codes are shared, the issue moves beyond device theft. Attackers gain access to the Apple account, disable security protections, and make the device easier to reuse or resell. The bigger risk is that a stolen phone can quickly become a compromised digital identity."

A Trusted Voice in India's Communication Security Landscape

This feature reinforces Vikram Raichura's position as a leading authority on communication security, fraud prevention, and AI-driven customer engagement in India. As the founder of Helo.ai a platform that powers mission-critical messaging for India's largest enterprises including HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, Tata Power, Bajaj Finserv, and Aditya Birla Group Vikram Raichura brings firsthand experience in securing billions of customer interactions across SMS, WhatsApp, RCS, Voice, and Email.

His insights in the article align directly with Helo.ai's core mission: building trust in digital communication.

"The common thread in most phishing scams is pressure. Unexpected messages, urgency-driven language, suspicious links, unfamiliar sender IDs, and requests for passwords, OTPs, or verification codes should all be treated with caution. The moment a message tries to rush you—that is the moment you should slow down."

"What makes these scams effective is that they don't ask people to believe something unbelievable. They ask people to believe something they desperately want to be true. The theft creates urgency. The phishing attempt exploits it."

Why This Matters for Enterprises

For businesses operating at scale, this threat landscape has direct implications:

• OTP and authentication flows delivered via SMS/WhatsApp/RCS are prime targets for social engineering
• Brand impersonation erodes customer trust in legitimate communications
• AI-generated phishing content is making attacks more sophisticated and harder to detect

Helo.ai addresses these challenges through Helo Verify—an AI-powered fraud prevention and secure authentication suite that detects anomalies, verifies identities, and protects OTP delivery channels. The platform's 97% OTP delivery within 10 seconds (1.5% faster than industry benchmarks) ensures legitimate messages reach users before fraudsters can exploit communication gaps.

About the Feature

The Indian Express article draws on expertise from multiple cybersecurity leaders, including:

• Dr. Sanjay Katkar, Joint Managing Director, Quick Heal Technologies
• Ankush Tiwari, CEO & Founder, pi-labs
• Kaushal Bheda, Director, Pelorus Technologies

The full article is available on The Indian Express website:
🔗 Read "Second theft: How scammers use a lost iPhone to steal your identity"

About Helo.ai

Helo.ai by Vivaconnect is India's premier AI-first cloud communication platform, enabling enterprises to engage customers across SMS, WhatsApp, RCS, Voice Bots, Chatbots, and Email—all from a unified dashboard. With 25+ years of enterprise communication expertise, Helo.ai powers billions of personalized engagements annually for India's leading banks, insurers, fintechs, e-commerce, and utility companies.

Key Capabilities:

• Helo Verify — AI-powered fraud prevention, OTP security & identity verification
• Omnichannel Messaging — SMS, WhatsApp Business API, RCS, Voice, Email
• AI Automation — No-code chatbots, voicebots, and campaign automation
•  Shortify — Branded, trackable short links with real-time analytics
• Conversations — Unified inbox for AI-powered customer support at scale

Trusted by: HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, Tata Power, Bajaj Finserv, Aditya Birla Group, Reliance Digital, Bandhan Bank, Mahindra Finance, Asian Paints, J&K Bank, Adani Electricity, and more.