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UPI Fraud Alert: Rs 805 Crore Lost This Fiscal Amid Digital Boom

Digital payment frauds via UPI have reached Rs 805 crore this fiscal year, involving over 10 lakh incidents. This trend shows a significant increase as UPI adoption grows across the country. In response, authorities are implementing measures like AI monitoring and transaction limits to combat these scams. You can report any suspicious activity through the national helpline 1930 or the Cybercrime Portal.

Key Points: UPI Frauds Worth Rs 805 Crore This Fiscal, Says Minister

  • UPI frauds amount to Rs 805 crore involving 10.64 lakh incidents this fiscal year
  • Fraud value has risen sharply from Rs 242 crore in FY22 to over Rs 1,000 crore in FY24
  • Government initiatives include device binding, AI fraud monitoring, and transaction limits
  • Citizens can report fraud via the National Cybercrime Portal (1930) and the 'Chakshu' facility
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UPI frauds worth Rs 805 crore witnessed this fiscal so far: Minister

UPI frauds hit Rs 805 crore this fiscal year. Learn about rising digital payment scams and the government's new security measures to protect users.

"With increasing digital payment transactions... incidences of fraudulent practices... have also gone up - Pankaj Chaudhary, MoS Finance"

New Delhi, Dec 15

India witnessed digital payment frauds worth Rs 805 crore via Unified Payments Interface (UPI), involving 10.64 lakh incidents, till November this fiscal (FY26), which has gone up compared to previous fiscals as the UPI adoption rises, the Parliament was informed on Monday.

In FY 2024-25, the country saw UPI-related frauds at Rs 981 crore (involving 12.64 lakh incidents) and in FY 2023-24, such frauds resulted in the loss of Rs 1,087 crore (13.42 lakh incidents), Union Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, told the Lok Sabha.

"With increasing digital payment transactions in the country, incidences of fraudulent practices, including digital payment frauds and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) frauds, have also gone up in the last few years," he noted.

The FY 2022-23 saw UPI-related frauds at Rs 573 crore, up from Rs 242 crore in FY 2021-22.

In order to prevent payment-related frauds, including UPI transaction frauds, various initiatives have been taken up by the government, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) from time to time.

These include device binding between the customer's mobile number and the device, two-factor authentication through PIN, daily transaction limit, limits and curbs on use cases, said the minister.

Additionally, the NPCI provides a fraud monitoring solution to all the banks to generate alerts and decline transactions by using AI/ML-based models. RBI and banks have also been taking up awareness campaigns through short SMS, radio campaigns, publicity on the prevention of ‘cyber-crime’, etc.

Further, to facilitate the citizens to report any cyber incident,s including financial frauds, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has launched a National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in) as well as a National Cybercrime Helpline Number '1930'.

Moreover, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has launched the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) and ‘Chakshu’ facility, which enables citizens to report suspected fraud communications received over call, SMS, or WhatsApp, said the minister.

The UPI saw 32 per cent transaction count growth (year-on-year) at 20.47 billion in the month of November — along with registering 22 per cent annual growth in transaction amount at Rs 26.32 lakh crore, according to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) data.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

A
Arjun K
While the fraud amount is high, let's also see the context. UPI transactions are over Rs 26 *lakh crore* in just November! The fraud is a tiny fraction. We can't let fear stop digital India's progress. The AI monitoring and Chakshu portal are steps in the right direction. 👍
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Rohit P
The real issue is with elderly people and those in smaller towns. They are the most vulnerable. SMS and radio ads are not enough. Banks should have mandatory in-person or video-call tutorials for customers above 60 when they activate UPI.
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David E
Interesting data. The fraud value has actually decreased from Rs 1,087 crore in FY24 to Rs 805 crore this fiscal so far, even as transaction volume exploded. That suggests the preventive measures might be working, though the number of incidents is still too high.
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Shreya B
Everyone please save the number 1930 and the cybercrime portal link. I had to use it once when I got a phishing link. The process was slow, but they did register my complaint. Public awareness is key. Share this with your family WhatsApp groups!
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Karthik V
The convenience of UPI is unmatched, but security needs to catch up. Why don't we have an option for a time-delay on large transactions to a new payee, like some Western banks? A simple "confirm after 1 hour" could stop many impulse scams.

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