New Delhi: In a chilling testament to the dark side of India’s digital revolution, cybercriminals have defrauded Indians of a staggering ₹22,842 crore in 2024 alone, according to a report released by Delhi-based media and tech research firm Data Leads. The projection for 2025 is even grimmer, with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) forecasting losses potentially crossing ₹1.2 lakh crore by year-end.
The revelations come from the investigative report "Contingencies of Cybercrime: Persistent and Emerging Risk of Online Financial Frauds and Deepfakes in India". The report underscores how online fraud is snowballing into a national crisis, with the number of digital fraud complaints reaching nearly two lakh in 2024 a tenfold rise from 2019.
Compared to the ₹7,465 crore lost to cyber scams in 2023, 2024 witnessed a tripling of the figure. In 2022, the total loss was ₹2,306 crore showcasing a rapid and alarming rise in digital vulnerability. This surge is closely tied to India’s unprecedented embrace of digital payment systems and the expansion of smartphone and internet penetration across the nation.
The report highlights how cybercriminals are exploiting familiar tools like Paytm, PhonePe, WhatsApp, and Telegram to defraud unsuspecting users. With digital transactions becoming part of everyday life, the methods of deception have become more sophisticated from impersonation to AI-generated deepfake messages.
In June 2025 alone, India processed over 190 crore UPI transactions, amounting to a whopping ₹24.03 lakh crore in value. In January 2025, the total digital transaction value was ₹18,120.82 crore a dramatic leap from ₹162 crore in 2013. These statistics make India the global leader in digital payments, accounting for nearly 50% of the world’s real-time online transactions.
The surge in online activity during and after the Covid-19 lockdowns contributed significantly to this explosion in digital payment usage. Lower data costs and the mass adoption of smartphones allowed millions in rural and semi-urban India to access digital financial tools ironically, also opening the floodgates for cybercrime.
The report also warns of a sharp rise in AI-driven financial scams and deepfake-based deception in critical sectors like banking, insurance, and healthcare. In FY 2025–26, banking-related digital frauds alone surged eightfold. According to the Reserve Bank of India, cyber thefts worth ₹21,367 crore were recorded up dramatically from ₹2,623 crore the previous year.
Scammers have begun to use convincing brand-name SMSs, fake refund offers, and deceptive e-commerce listings with slashed prices to lure victims into parting with their money.
Unemployment and economic stress are cited as underlying causes behind the rising number of fraudsters operating within India. The digital space, once seen as a tool for empowerment, is increasingly becoming a breeding ground for economic exploitation.
As digital dependence continues to deepen, experts and authorities stress the urgent need for robust cybersecurity awareness campaigns, better fraud reporting mechanisms, and stronger regulatory oversight to protect citizens and financial institutions from the invisible war being waged in cyberspace.