Behind every figure in this article is a person who lost money. The numbers below come from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and show how fast online financial fraud has grown in India.
Complaints on the national portal, year by year
Financial fraud complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), with the amount reported by complainants:
- 2021: 2,62,846 complaints, about ₹551 crore
- 2022: 6,94,446 complaints, about ₹2,290 crore
- 2023: 13,10,357 complaints, about ₹7,465 crore
- 2024: 19,18,835 complaints, about ₹22,848 crore
- 2025: 24,02,579 complaints, about ₹22,495 crore
Source: MHA reply published by PIB on 11 February 2026. MHA notes that this data is dynamic and changes as complaints are updated.
What stands out
- Complaints rose about 9 times between 2021 and 2025 (from 2.6 lakh to 24 lakh).
- Complaints still grew about 25% in 2025, even though the total amount reported was slightly lower than 2024 (about 1.5% down).
- The average reported loss per complaint works out to roughly ₹21,000 in 2021, ₹1.19 lakh in 2024 and ₹94,000 in 2025. These are our own calculations from the official totals, so treat them as indicative.
- Over the five years, the portal recorded more than 65.8 lakh financial fraud complaints and more than ₹55,000 crore reported (MHA, July 2026).
Reading the numbers carefully
- These are reported amounts, not confirmed losses. The government figures are what complainants reported, not what was proven lost.
- More complaints can also mean more awareness. As the 1930 helpline and portal became better known, more people reported. Not every rise is a rise in fraud alone, but fraud has clearly grown too.
- Data is revised. Different releases can show slightly different totals for the same period.
What it means for you
Online fraud is no longer rare. It is something every family should expect to meet at some point, usually as a call, a message or a link. The most useful response is preparation: know the helpline, know what to save as evidence, and know the first steps. Our guides on this blog cover each of these.
We are an independent advisory platform and not a government body. Please verify current figures on official government sources.
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