Cybercrime losses in India: Over Rs 22 lakh crore lost; 206% spike in 2024
This was a significant rise from 24,42,978 cases reported in 2023
By Sistla Dakshina Murthy
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New Delhi: Indians lost over Rs 22 lakh crore (Rs 22,845.73 crore in total) to cyber criminals in 2024, marking a staggering 206 per cent increase compared to the previous year, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
Over 36 lakh financial fraud cases reported
Responding to a written question, minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar said that data from the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS) revealed 36,37,288 incidents of financial fraud in 2024.
This was a significant rise from 24,42,978 cases reported in 2023.
Steady spike in cybercrime cases since 2022
Sharing year-wise data, the minister stated that 10,29,026 cybercrime cases were reported on NCRP in 2022, showing a 127.44 per cent increase over the previous year.
In 2023, the number rose to 15,96,493 cases (a 55.15 per cent rise), and further to 22,68,346 cases in 2024, reflecting a 42.08 per cent increase.
Financial fraud reporting system launched in 2021
Bandi Sanjay said the CFCFRMS was launched in 2021 under the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to facilitate immediate reporting of financial frauds and prevent funds from being siphoned off by fraudsters. He added that more than Rs 5,489 crore has been saved so far in over 17.82 lakh complaints reported on the portal.
Blocking of SIM cards, IMEIs and mule accounts
The minister informed Parliament that the government had blocked over 9.42 lakh SIM cards and 2,63,348 IMEIs based on inputs from police authorities to curb cybercrime.
Additionally, a Suspect Registry of identifiers of cyber criminals was launched by I4C in September 2024 in collaboration with banks and financial institutions.
āSo far, more than 11 lakh suspect identifier data received from banks and 24 lakh Layer 1 mule accounts have been shared with participating entities of the Suspect Registry, saving over Rs 4,631 crore,ā he said.
āPratibimbā module for real-time mapping
Highlighting further measures, Bandi Sanjay said the government launched the āPratibimbā module to map locations of criminals and their crime infrastructure. The tool has facilitated the arrest of 10,599 accused, established 26,096 linkages, and processed 63,019 cyber investigation assistance requests so far.
State agencies handle FIRs and arrests
The minister clarified that cybercrime incidents reported on the NCRP, their conversion into FIRs, filing of chargesheets, arrests and resolution of complaints are handled by respective state and Union Territory law enforcement agencies as per legal provisions.
