ID, OTP, shopping frauds drive 50% of cybercrime case in Gujarat

Ahmedabad: In 2025, nearly half of Gujarat's cybercrime complaints involved fake identity fraud, OTP fraud or online shopping scams, with these three categories accounting for 88,753 of the 1.61 lakh complaints received by the cybercrime helpline. Fake identity fraud was the most-reported category, with 45,152 cases, followed by OTP fraud (23,481) and online shopping fraud (20,123). Among the five most common fraud types by volume, investment fraud and card fraud together accounted for 10,061 cases. The top five categories contributed nearly 75% of total reported losses, estimated at Rs 993.85 crore.Virtual assets fraud was reported in about 318 cases, with losses of Rs 10.61 crore and an average loss of Rs 3.34 lakh per case, the third highest per-case average among categories. Officials said visa-related cheating extended beyond job or overseas settlement promises to visitor visas as well. In Oct, a Punjabi family and a resident of Nadiad complained to Navrangpura police that they were cheated of Rs 78 lakh by six people, including residents of Haryana and Punjab, who promised Canadian work and visitor visas. The complainant said he first contacted an agent on social media and transferred Rs 1.5 lakh, then was added to a group where "security deposits" were sought, token currency-note pieces were issued, and refunds were promised after arrival. No visas were delivered, leading to the complaint. Data showed that courier, crypto, electricity bill payment and social media fake ID cases were each below 100. Ten other categories recorded between 100 and 1,000 cases. Job fraud (5,327), booking fraud (6,946) and loan application fraud (7,494) fell in the 5,000-10,000 range. Sextortion calls drew 1,157 complaints involving Rs 3.25 crore, averaging Rs 28,097 per case, with officials saying most victims were senior citizens and adults. Matrimonial fraud remained low in volume but high in per-case losses, with 148 complaints and Rs 1.34 crore siphoned off.