SRINAGAR: India has recorded nearly 80 lakh cases of digital payment fraud involving Rs 13002 crore over the last three years, the Government informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, underlining the scale of cyber financial crime accompanying the rapid growth of digital transactions.
In a written reply, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said that the rise in cyber frauds, including digital payment-related offences, has been noted alongside the expansion of online financial systems.
Data provided by the Reserve Bank of India shows that 28.22 lakh fraud cases involving Rs 4403 crore were reported in 2023–24. This was followed by 27.56 lakh cases amounting to Rs 4824 crore in 2024–25. In the current financial year 2025–26, up to January, 24.17 lakh cases involving Rs 3775 crore have already been recorded, taking the cumulative total to 79.95 lakh cases and Rs 13002 crore.
The government said multiple technological interventions have been introduced to strengthen fraud detection and prevention. These include the launch of ‘MuleHunter’, an Artificial Intelligence-based tool designed to identify money mule accounts, and advice to banks to deploy real-time transaction monitoring systems using AI and machine learning.
Financial institutions have also been directed to establish dedicated analytics units to track unusual transaction patterns, particularly across digital platforms, enabling early detection of suspicious activity.
In a significant institutional development, the government has set up the Indian Digital Payment Intelligence Corporation, a Section 8 company incorporated in October 2025, tasked with real-time detection and analysis of fraud in the digital payments ecosystem using advanced technologies such as AI, machine learning and big data analytics.
For transactions on the Unified Payments Interface, additional safeguards such as device binding, two-factor authentication, transaction limits, and restrictions on certain use cases have been implemented. The National Payments Corporation of India has also deployed AI-driven fraud monitoring systems that generate alerts and block suspicious transactions.
The government said awareness campaigns through SMS alerts, radio outreach and public messaging are being conducted to educate users about cyber fraud risks.
On coordination with states, the Centre reiterated that “police” and “public order” fall under the jurisdiction of states and Union Territories, which are primarily responsible for investigation and prosecution of cyber crimes. However, the Centre supplements these efforts through advisories and financial assistance for capacity building.
A Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre has also been established under the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, bringing together banks, telecom operators, payment intermediaries and law enforcement agencies for real-time coordination and response.
The response came in reply to a question raised by Rajya Sabha member Madan Rathore, reflecting increasing concern over the scale and sophistication of cyber financial crimes in the country.
