Context:
India is witnessing an alarming rise in cyber fraud and cheating cases, with citizens losing nearly ₹53,000 crore over the last six years, underscoring growing threats to economic security, digital trust, and internal security.
Key Highlights:
- Magnitude of the Problem
- As per the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Indians lost ₹52,976 crore to fraud and cheating between 2019 and 2025.
- In 2025 alone, losses amounted to ₹19,812.96 crore, with 21,77,524 complaints filed on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
- State-wise Impact
- Maharashtra reported the highest losses in 2025 at ₹3,203 crore.
- The top five affected states—Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana—accounted for over 50% of total losses.
- Nature of Cyber Frauds (2025)
- Investment frauds: 36%
- Credit card fraud: 27%
- Sextortion: 19%
- E-commerce fraud: 10%
- Digital arrest scams: 6%
- App/malware-based fraud: 3%
- International Linkages
- Around 45% of cyber fraud complaints originated from South-East Asian countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, highlighting cross-border dimensions.
- Trend Analysis
- 2023: ₹7,465.2 crore lost
- 2024: ₹22,849.49 crore lost
- 2025: Sharp escalation, indicating rapidly evolving cybercrime methods.
Relevant Prelims Points:
- Cyber Phishing: Fraudulent attempts to steal sensitive information via digital communication.
- Digital Arrest Scam: Fraud where victims are coerced into paying money under false legal threats.
- Sextortion: Cyber blackmail involving threats to release private images or information.
Relevant Mains Points:
- Cyber fraud threatens financial stability, public trust in digital governance, and national security.
- Cross-border cybercrime challenges existing jurisdictional and enforcement mechanisms.
- Digital financial inclusion without adequate cyber awareness increases vulnerability.
- Way Forward:
- Strengthen international cybercrime cooperation and information sharing.
- Expand cyber awareness programmes for citizens and businesses.
- Enhance real-time fraud detection and faster fund-freezing mechanisms.
UPSC Relevance
- GS 2: Governance, public order
- GS 3: Internal security, cyber security, digital economy