In the past six years, Indians lost over ₹52,976 crore to various cyber frauds and cheating cases, fresh data compiled by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and reported by Indian Express has revealed.
The report reveals rise in financial crimes including investment traps, digital arrest, online scams, banking frauds, and cyber phishing, across the country. The I4C is a division of the Union Home Ministry to provide a framework and eco-system for Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs)
The Indian Express report cites the data from the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, which shows that around ₹19,812.96 crore were lost and 21,77,524 cheating-related fraud complaints were received in 2025 – last year.
Out of ₹19,812 crore loss in 2025, about 77 per cent was lost in the name of investment schemes, 8 per cent lost through digital arrest, 7 per cent via credit card fraud, 4 per cent in sextortion, 3 per cent in e-commerce fraud and 1 per cent to app/malware based fraud, the data cited in the report reveals.
In 2024, about ₹22,849.49 crore was lost and 19,188,52 complaints received while about ₹7,463.2 crore was lost and 13,103,61 complaints received in 2023, the report said. Similarly, about ₹2,290.23 crore was lost and 69,44,46 complaints received in 2022 while ₹551.65 crore lost and 2,62,846 complaints received in 2021. About s 8.56 crore was lost and 12,77,46 complaints were received in 2020, according to the report quoting unnamed officials.
Maharashtra tops the states
Among states, Maharashtra recorded the highest monetary losses in cheating-related offences across the country in 2025 with ₹3,203 crore lost and 28,33,20 complaints recorded. Maharashtra is followed closely by Karnataka at ₹2,413 crore lost and 21,32,28 complaints.
Tamil Nadu saw a loss of ₹1,897 crore and 12,32,90 complaints while Uttar Pradesh reported a loss of ₹1,443 crore and 27,52,64 complaints last year, according to the report. Telangana saw ₹1,372 crore lost and 95,000 complaints, in cheating and fraud-related offences, the report said.
These five states alone account for more than half of the total money lost to cyber frauds across the country in 2025.
In 2025 alone, 77% of the <span class='webrupee'>₹</span>19,812 crore lost was due to fraudulent investment schemes.
Among other states, ₹16.74 crore was lost while around 1,807 complaints of fraud cases were received from Manipur in 2025.
The report also quotes data from the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS) which reveals that around 21 crore cyber fraud complaints were received in 2025. About 45 per cent of these cases originated from Southeast Asian countries – Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, the report said.
