Cyber fraud complaints cross 12.7 lakh in 6 months; UP leads, Maharashtra loses most

Lucknow ( Raghwendra Pratap Singh) : With 1.85 lakh cyber fraud complaints registered in the first six months of this year, Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number in the country, followed by Maharashtra with 1.58 lakh, Karnataka with 1.21 lakh, Gujarat with 97,937, and Bihar with 93,137.

Data on cyber fraud and measures to prevent it were recently discussed at a meeting chaired by senior officials of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

At the meeting, officials discussed state-wise financial cyber fraud data, which showed that more than 12.71 lakh complaints were recorded between January 1 and June 30 this year, with complainants reporting alleged fraudulent transactions worth over Rs 10,178 crore, a source said.

The data comes amid a nationwide rise in complaints about online investment fraud, digital arrest scams, loan app fraud, phishing, impersonation, and fraudulent links circulated through messaging and social media platforms.

The state-wise data underscores the ongoing scale of financial cybercrime complaints across states, with Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Delhi, and Tamil Nadu among those reporting the highest volumes.

Rajasthan recorded 75,883 complaints, West Bengal 72,439, Delhi 64,496, Tamil Nadu 63,116, and Haryana 58,721,” the source said.

In terms of the money lost, Maharashtra recorded the highest cyber fraud amount at Rs 1,637.66 crore, followed by Karnataka (Rs 1,097.37 crore), Tamil Nadu (Rs 897.79 crore), Uttar Pradesh (Rs 734.19 crore), Gujarat (Rs 643.82 crore), Chandigarh (Rs 630.53 crore) and Telangana (Rs 614.18 crore).

Of the 12.71 lakh complaints recorded nationally, 2.86 lakh were pushed for banking action, while 2.70 lakh complaints were taken up by banks under the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System.

Smaller states and Union Territories showed wide variation in the number of complaints. Lakshadweep reported 37 complaints, Ladakh 174, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 406, Mizoram 432, Nagaland 455, Sikkim 537, Arunachal Pradesh 656, and Meghalaya 784.