Mumbai has seen a sharp rise in cyber fraud over the past five years. The city recorded nearly 20,000 cases with losses crossing INR 2,000 crore. Interestingly, the recoveries stayed very small. Many victims said they not only lost money to scammers but also faced refusals from banks, even though RBI rules promise zero liability.
From January 2024 to March 2025, the city lost more than INR 1,127 crore to online crimes. Cyber-cheating made up 85% of these losses. This included investment scams, digital arrests, and fake cryptocurrency schemes.
Cases rose by 350% in 2024. By November, 55,707 people reported losses of INR 1,181 crore. Recovery stayed at only 11–12%, as banks often failed to follow RBI guidelines. There were 4,132 FIRs for card fraud, ATM fraud, SIM swap, cloning, activation issues, and OTP sharing. These cases alone caused losses of INR 165 crore. Police could recover only INR 4.8 crore.
Mumbai Police data also showed a steep rise in investment fraud. Losses grew from INR 7.76 crore in 2023 to INR 191 crore by mid-2024. Task work scams caused losses of INR 36.89 crore. Digital arrest cases led to losses of INR 73 crore in early 2025. Credit card fraud cost victims INR 34 crore. Sextortion caused losses of INR 47 crore. Fake crypto schemes grew on messaging platforms, with 75% of these scams coming from Telegram and WhatsApp.
In August, the Mumbai Police Crime Branch uncovered a cyber fraud network using bank accounts and SIM cards taken from people from low-income backgrounds. The group cheated victims of more than INR 60 crore. Police arrested 12 people linked to the racket.
Five were original account holders who sold their bank accounts, SIM cards, and documents for a small amount of money. The other seven included a couple who led the operation. Police said the account holders knew their details were being used for fraud, so they were also booked in the case.
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