Bank Frauds Up 275%, Digital Frauds Rise 708% In Last 2 Years: RBI

New Delhi: Frauds have become so commonplace in our society that it has almost become a way of life. Every other day, scamsters devise a new way to cheat fellow-humans.

The alarming trend is reflected in the annual report of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), released on Thursday.

The number of frauds in banking sector went up to 36,075 in 2023-24 from 13,564 in the previous financial year, a rise of 275%, PTI reported.

However, the amount involved in the frauds reduced by 46.7 per cent down from Rs 26,127 to Rs 13,930 crore.

As for frauds related to card and internet payments, there was a staggering increase of 808% from Rs 3,596 in FY22 to Rs 29,082 in FY24. In terms of value, it increased from Rs 155 crore in FY22 to Rs 1,457.

The RBI report stated that with an aim to curb frauds and enhance payment experience, introduction of real-time payee name validation before actual fund transfer will be explored in compliance with newly-enacted ‘The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023’.

Private sector banks reported maximum number of frauds, while public sector banks continued to contribute maximum to the fraud amount, the RBI Annual Report 2023-24 revealed.

“Frauds have occurred predominantly in the category of digital payments (card/internet), in terms of number. In terms of value, frauds have been reported primarily in the loan portfolio (advances category),” the report said.

Small value card/internet frauds contributed most to the number of frauds reported by private sector banks, frauds in public sector banks were mainly in loan portfolio.