Internet, card frauds halve in FY25: RBI data

Chennai: Fraud cases involving internet and cards in the banking sector fell by more than 50% in FY25 over the corresponding year (FY24). It comes a year after a sharp increase in frauds under the internet and cards category, which rose by four times between 2022-23 and 2023-24.

Analysts attribute the decrease in digital frauds in FY25 to attack surface reduction through layered controls, raising attackers’ cost, and enhancing cybersecurity measures.

Data released by RBI said, banks reported 13,516 fraud cases involving Rs 520 crore in FY25. It was a decline by 53.5% (29,082 cases) and 64% (Rs 1,457 crore), respectively in the previous year (FY24). During FY23, 6,699 fraud cases involving Rs 278 crore was reported under the category in public, private, foreign, small finance, payment and local area banks.

An assessment of bank group-wise fraud cases over the past three years indicates that frauds have occurred predominantly in the category of digital payments (card/internet) in terms of numbers, India’s central bank said in its annual report for 2024-25. Card/internet accounted for 56.5% of overall fraud cases in banks in FY25, while this category share was at 80.6% and 49.7% in FY24 and FY23, respectively. Advances and deposits are the other major areas in fraud cases after digital payments. Also, card/internet frauds contributed maximum to the number of frauds reported by private sector banks, the report added.

However, digital payment related frauds, wherein credentials such as One Time Password (OTP), card verification value (CVV), and passwords that were compromised by customers themselves does not cause loss to the banks.

Sundareshwar Krishnamurthy, partner – cybersecurity, PwC India said, the reduction in card and internet-related frauds can be attributed to various factors including enhancing trust in customer-device-channel linkages. "In short, banks now trust only transactions on authenticated channels and devices, making remote fraud much harder. Banks and regulators have significantly tilted the cost–benefit equation against cybercriminals by making fraud attempts more time-consuming, complex, and easier to detect. Measures such as multi-layered authentication and integration of tools like the mobile number revocation list have made it harder for fraudsters to exploit digital payment channels."

Vaibhav Koul, managing director, Protiviti Member Firm of India said, introduction of RBI-approved ‘.bank.in’ and ‘.fin.in’ domains provide customers with verified URLs, helping to counter phishing and fake websites. "Many banks have deployed real-time AI/ML-based fraud detection systems to flag suspicious transactions proactively or enhance their systems,” he added.


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