A 23-year-old private firm worker in Hyderabad fell victim to a ₹12 lakh parcel scam, prompting the Hyderabad Cyber Crimes police to initiate an investigation.
As reported by The Hindu, the scam involved the victim being falsely informed about the misuse of his Aadhaar number for a courier from Mumbai to Saudi Arabia, purportedly containing illegal substances and diabetes tablets.
Fraudsters then coerced the victim into transferring funds under the guise of verifying his innocence, using threats during a Skype video call, the report said.
Authorities urge victims of such cyber financial fraud to promptly report incidents via the Cyber Crime helpline number 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in. Assistance is also available via WhatsApp at 8712665171.
Earlier in May, the Reserve Bank of India's annual report highlighted a sharp rise in fraud cases within the banking sector, with incidents surging by nearly 300% to 36,075 cases during the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). Despite the significant increase in the number of cases, the total amount involved in fraud decreased from ₹45,358 crore in FY22 to ₹13,930 crore in FY24.
According to the report, online fraud cases increased by 708% in the last two years to 29,082. The rising number of fraud cases coincides with increased fraud amounts via Internet banking/cards. In two years, the amount of money duped by fraudsters online increased by 145% to ₹1,457 crore.
According to the central bank's report, 67% of fraud cases reported in FY24 were from private sector banks, while 75% of the total fraud amount was reported by public sector banks. The percentage of fraud amount reported by private lenders was 22.8% in FY24.
In FY24, while a substantial number of fraud cases were reported in the internet/cards category, the highest monetary losses stemmed from loan portfolios. Public Sector Banks notably surpassed private lenders in this regard. Out of the total reported fraud amount of ₹13,930 crore, a significant 84% originated from advances, specifically within the loan portfolio category.
The private sector banks reported a maximum number of frauds, whereas public sector bank continued to contribute to maximum to the fraud amount.
