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New Delhi: India lost at least Rs 22,842 crore to fraudsters and digital criminals, with the rise of digital frauds in the nation, according to DataLEADS, a Delhi-based media and tech company. The DataLEADS, in an event "Contours of Cybercrime: Persistent and Emerging Risk of Online Financial Frauds and Deepfakes in India", discussed about the rise of cyber frauds and digital scams in our country.
The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre, I4C, a federal agency that liaises between state and central law enforcement opines that Indian citizens might lose over Rs 1.2 lakh crore in 2025 as well. The scammers in 2024 had stolen money, which is nearly thrice the Rs 7,465 crore in 2023 and almost ten times more than the Rs 2,306 crore in 2022. Last year, almost 20 lakhs of cyber frauds were reported, which is concerning.
Over the years, the use of digital payment platforms such as Paytm and PhonePe has been increasing while messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram are frequently used for sharing and processing financial details digitally. Globally, digital payments' value has risen from Rs 162 crore in 2013 to nearly Rs 18,120.82 crore in January 2025, of which India accounts for almost 50 per cent of such online payments, which is rather shocking.
India drastically went through a digital transformation during 2020, with of Covid 19 cases across the world. To ensure contactless payments, the government advised people to opt for digital payments rather than cash. The people in rural areas also started using the digital payment platforms, as the data rates in India were among the cheapest in the world where 1 GB cost Rs 200, or less than 3 dollars.
At present, digital frauds in India target all sectors from health to banking to healthcare and retail, using complicated scams with intricate workflows to avoid coming under the radar. Digital fraudsters are also equipped with tech tools like Artificial Intelligence, and have immense expertise in creating deepfake videos, morphing the image of celebrities and business leaders effortlessly.
The web of cyber frauds is wide-ranging, from fake links to payment confirmation scams and insurance frauds; the list goes on. According to I4C data, over 15,000 finance-related fraud complaints were reported on WhatsApp alone in January 2024. Around 14,000 were reported in February and another 15,000 in March, NDTV reported.
