SRINAGAR: Financial fraud linked to Unified Payments Interface and other digital payment platforms has risen sharply over the past five years, with losses exceeding Rs 3,600 crore and reported incidents running into several lakhs annually, the Union Finance Ministry acknowledged in Parliament on Monday, underlining the growing risks accompanying India’s rapid shift to digital payments.
In a written reply to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said that with the expansion of digital transactions, instances of fraudulent practices, including UPI related scams, have also increased in recent years. Official data attached to the reply shows a steep escalation in both the number of cases and the amount involved, particularly after 2021.
UPI fraud incidents rose from 4.07 lakh cases in 2021-22, involving Rs 242 crore, to 7.25 lakh cases worth Rs 573 crore in 2022-23. The situation worsened further in 2023-24, when incidents jumped to 13.42 lakh and the amount involved crossed Rs 1,087 crore, the highest in the five year period. Although the number of cases dipped marginally to 12.64 lakh in 2024 25, losses remained high at Rs 981 crore. In the current financial year so far, till November 2025, 10.64 lakh cases involving Rs 805 crore have already been reported.
Responding to concerns over safeguards, the government said multiple measures have been taken by the Finance Ministry, the Reserve Bank of India and the National Payments Corporation of India to strengthen the security architecture of UPI transactions. These include device binding between a user’s mobile number and handset, two factor authentication through PINs, daily transaction limits and restrictions on certain use cases.
The NPCI, the ministry said, has also rolled out fraud monitoring solutions for banks that use artificial intelligence and machine learning models to generate alerts and block suspicious transactions in real time. Banks and regulators have simultaneously stepped up public awareness campaigns through SMS alerts, radio programmes and publicity drives focusing on cybercrime prevention.
On grievance redressal and user protection, the government pointed to the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs, along with the national helpline number 1930, which allows citizens to report financial fraud and cyber incidents. The Department of Telecommunications has also introduced the Digital Intelligence Platform and the Chakshu facility, enabling users to flag suspected fraudulent calls, messages or WhatsApp communications.
