India lost Rs 22,842 crore to cybercriminals and fraudsters in 2024, DataLEADS, a Delhi-based media and tech company, said in its report on widespread digital financial frauds in the country. The amount stolen by digital criminals and fraudsters last year was nearly three times more than the Rs 7,465 crore in 2023 and almost 10 times more than the Rs 2,306 in 2022, DataLEADS said in ‘Contours of Cybercrime: Persistent and Emerging Risk of Online Financial Frauds and Deepfakes in India.

Prediction For Cyber-Crime Frauds

The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre, I4C, a federal agency that liaises between state and central law enforcement, predicts Indians will lose over Rs 1.2 lakh crore this year. The number of cybercrime complaints has spiked similarly; nearly twenty lakh were reported in 2024, up from around 15.6 lakh the year before and ten times more than were logged in 2019.

The surge in the number of cybercrime complaints and the volume of money lost points to one inescapable conclusion – India’s digital crooks are getting smarter and more efficient, and, in a country with a staggering nearly 290 lakh unemployed people, their ranks are increasing.

Bank-related frauds have increased dramatically; the Reserve Bank of India reported a nearly eightfold jump in the first half of FY 2025/26 compared to the same period last year. And the amount of money lost was staggering – Rs 2,623 crore to Rs 21,367 crore. Private sector banks accounted for nearly 60 per cent of all such incidents. But it was customers in public sector banks who were worst-hit; they lost Rs 25,667 crore in all.

Why have these numbers jumped so much over the past three years?

Because of the increased use of digital payment modes – i.e., smartphone-enabled services like Paytm and PhonePe – and the sharing and processing of financial details online – via (what many believe are encrypted and fail-safe) messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.

Federal data says there were over 190 lakh UPI, or unified payment interface, transactions in June 2025 alone, and these were worth a combined Rs 24.03 lakh crore. Digital payments’ value has grown from roughly Rs 162 crore in 2013 to Rs 18,120.82 crore in January 2025, and India accounts for nearly half of all such payments worldwide.

COVID-19

Much of this increase can be attributed to the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns.

During COVID-19, the government pushed for a switch to UPI apps like Paytm to ensure social distancing and minimise contact with currency notes, via which the virus could be transmitted.

Digital Payment Tools In Rural Areas

The government also reasoned that digital payment tools would ensure greater penetration of financial services, particularly in rural areas. By 2019, India already had 440 million smartphone users and data rates were among the cheapest in the world – 1 GB cost Rs 200, or less than $3.

Insurance sector scams were also common. These included life, health, vehicle, and general, and are becoming an increasingly lucrative option for cybercriminals, particularly as insurance companies urge customers to opt for app-based services.

New Delhi: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday asserted that the election system in India was “already dead,” and alleged that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were “rigged” and that he has proof to substantiate the claim.

Addressing the annual legal conclave titled ‘Constitutional Challenges – Perspectives & Pathways’, Gandhi said that he suspected over 80 Lok Sabha seats were rigged in the 2024 general elections.

“The truth is that the election system in India is already dead. The Prime Minister of India holds office with a very slim majority. If 15 seats were rigged, we suspect that the number is over 70 to 80, he would not have been the Prime Minister of India. We are going to prove to you in the coming few days how a Lok Sabha election can be rigged and was rigged,” Gandhi said while addressing the gathering in the national capital.

Highlighting the six-month investigation carried out by Congress, he further alleged that the Election Commission of India (ECI) doesn’t exist and has disappeared. According to documentation received from the EC, Gandhi said that the Congress has ascertained that nearly 1.5 lakh voters out of 6.5 lakh who voted in the Lok Sabha elections were “fake”.

“It makes it clear that the institution that defends the constitution has been obliterated and taken over. We have such proof that will show the whole country that the institution of the Election Commission does not exist. It has disappeared. It has taken us 6 months of non-stop work to find this proof. You will see with zero doubt how a Lok Sabha election is stolen. 6.5 lakh voters vote, and 1.5 lakh of those voters are fake,” Gandhi said.

The LoP rekindled his suspicions regarding the election system, saying that he had his doubts about “something being wrong” since 2014. Questioning the BJP’s sweeping victories in the assembly elections of Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, Gandhi noted that they began investigating electoral malpractices following their defeat in Maharashtra, where one crore new voters appeared within months ahead of the assembly elections, ultimately voting for the BJP.

“I’ve been speaking recently about the election system. I had always suspected something was wrong, starting from 2014. I had a suspicion in the Gujarat Assembly elections already. This ability to win sweeping victories. The Congress Party didn’t get a single seat in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, or Gujarat, which surprised me. Whenever we spoke, people said, ‘Where’s the proof?’ Then, something happened in Maharashtra,” Gandhi said.

“In the Lok Sabha, we won the election. And then four months later, we didn’t just lose, we were obliterated. Three formidable parties suddenly just evaporated. We started to look seriously for electoral malpractice. We found that in Maharashtra, one crore new voters appeared between the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. The bulk of those votes go to the BJP… Now, I say with absolutely no doubt that we have proof,” the Congress leader said.

Bengaluru: A sweeper, turned outsourced office assistant at the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Corporation (KRIDL) in Koppal district has been the owner of properties worth over Rs 100 crore.

The shocking revelation came after the Karnataka Lokayukta raided the KRIDL office in Koppal, following a complaint against the Chief Executive Engineer Z M Chincholikar that there has been misappropriation of funds to the tune of Rs 72 crore in the works taken up between 2022 – 2024.

However, during the raid, the Lokayukta police grew suspicious over the office assistant Kalakappa Nidagundi of Bandi village in neighbouring Yalaburga taluk. Both Chincholikar and Nidagundi were immediately suspended and the search operations continued. However, Chincholikar managed to obtain a stay from the KAT and has been transferred to Davanagere.

During the search operations, the Lokayukta police stumbled on interesting facts about Kalakappa Nidagundi. He started his career as a sweeper in the KRIDL office, Koppal. Later in 2003, he was registered as an outsourced employee and made the office assistant. Since then, he has been the office assistant of the Koppal division.

While investigating the Rs 72 crore misappropriation in 108 works taken up by KRIDL  during 2022-2024, the Lokayukta police realised that Kalakappa Nidagundi was the mastermind of the scam. The Lokayukta police decided to go after the property he had amassed and were shocked to see that he was owning two luxurious cars, along with other properties, which is worth over Rs 100 crore.

According to Lokayukta police, Nidagundi has 24 houses in Koppal and Bhagya Nagar near Bagalakot. He has over 40 acres of farmland in the name of his wife, brother and brother-in-law. Besides, he owns over 50 housing plots in places like Bandi, Hitnal, Huligi and Yalaburga. The Lokayukta police have seized two cars, two bikes, 350 gms of gold and 1.5 kg silver from his house, which were unaccounted for.