The money Indian citizens lost to cybercriminals jumped 206 per cent in a year to Rs 22,845.73 crore in 2024, minister of state for home affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The minister’s reply came in response to a written parliamentary question.
Kumar said that data from the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP) and the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS), managed by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), showed that total financial losses due to cyber fraud across the country in 2024 was Rs 22,845.73 crore.
The figure was Rs 7,465.18 crore in 2023, the previous year.
A total of 36,37,288 incidents of financial cyber fraud were recorded on the NCCRP and the CFCFRMS in 2024, compared to 24,42,978 such incidents the previous year.
A total of 10,29,026 cybercrimes were reported on the NCCRP in 2022, marking a 127.44 per cent rise from the year before.
In 2023, a total of 15,96,493 incidents were recorded, a 55.15 per cent increase, while 2024 saw 22,68,346 cases, reflecting a 42.08 per cent rise.
The CFCFRMS, launched in 2021, “facilitates immediate reporting of financial frauds to prevent criminals from siphoning off funds,” Kumar noted.
He added that the CFCFRMS has saved over ₹5,489 crore across more than 17.82 lakh complaints reported so far.
Detailing government action against cybercriminals, the minister said that over 9.42 lakh SIM cards and 2,63,348 IMEIs have been blocked by the Centre.
A Suspect Registry for tracking cybercriminals’ identifiers was launched by I4C on 10 September 2024, in collaboration with banks and financial institutions.
So far, over 11 lakh suspect identifiers from banks and 24 lakh Layer 1 mule accounts have been shared with participating entities, saving more than ₹4,631 crore, he said.
Kumar further noted that the ‘Pratibimb’ module, which maps criminals’ locations and crime infrastructure, has been introduced to assist jurisdictional officers. “This module has facilitated the arrest of 10,599 accused, established 26,096 linkages, and addressed 63,019 cyber investigation assistance requests,” he added.
