In the first six months of the current financial year (April-September, 2025), the total amount involved in bank fraud cases in the country has increased significantly. According to a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report, the fraud amount during this period rose to Rs 21,515 crore. A year ago, during the same period, this figure was Rs 16,569 crore. This represents an increase of nearly 30 per cent year-on-year.
However, according to the report, the number of fraud incidents has decreased. Based on banks' reporting dates, a total of 5,092 fraud cases were recorded in the first half of the current financial year. During the same period last year, this number was 18,386.
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The fraud amount increased in the 2024-25 financial year. During that period, the amount involved in fraud reached Rs 34,771 crore. In the previous financial year (FY24), this figure was Rs 11,261 crore. During the same period, the total number of fraud cases decreased to 23,879. In the 2024 financial year, this number was 36,052.
RBI stated that one of the main reasons for the sudden increase in fraud amounts was the re-evaluation and fresh reporting of 122 old cases following the Supreme Court's judgment dated March 27, 2023. The total amount involved in these cases was Rs 18,336 crore.
Analysis based on the timing of fraud incidents shows that card and internet-related fraud accounted for 66.8 per cent of the total number of cases in 2024-25. However, in terms of monetary value, fraud related to advances had the highest share at 33.1 per cent.
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Private banks accounted for 59.3 per cent of the total number of fraud cases reported in the last financial year. On the other hand, 70.7 per cent of the total financial losses occurred in public sector banks. In private banks, card and internet fraud was highest in terms of numbers. However, in terms of monetary value, advances-related fraud topped the list. In public sector banks, advances-related fraud was the highest in 2024-25 in terms of both numbers and amounts.
RBI reported that card and internet fraud numbers and amounts decreased across all types of banks in 2024-25. The number of incidents came down to 7,756, which was 27,663 in the previous year. Similarly, the fraud amount decreased to Rs 252 crore, whereas this figure was Rs 1,192 crore in the previous year.
