Bank Frauds Fall In Number, Surge In Value In FY25, Says RBI. Details Here

Bank fraud cases declined in FY25, but the total amount involved nearly tripled, with the majority of incidents occurring in digital payments, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Thursday. While private-sector banks reported a higher number of fraud cases, state-owned banks accounted for the largest share of the total amount of fraud.

According to the RBI’s annual report for FY25, banks reported 23,953 fraud cases, a 34 per cent drop from FY24. However, the value of these frauds surged to Rs 36,014 crore, nearly three times higher than the previous year. “The increase in the amount involved in the total frauds reported during 2024-25 over 2023-24 was mainly due to removal of fraud classification in 122 cases amounting to ₹18,674 crore reported during previous financial years and reporting afresh during the current financial year after re-examination and ensuring compliance with the judgement of the Supreme Court dated March 27, 2023,” said the report.

The RBI's data covers fraud cases involving Rs 1 lakh and above. It also noted that many of the frauds reported in a given year may have occurred in earlier years.

Private Sector Banks

In FY25, private-sector banks reported the highest number of fraud cases, 14,233, representing 59.4 per cent of all cases in the banking sector. In contrast, public-sector banks reported 6,935 cases or 29 per cent, but accounted for a significantly larger share of the total amount involved at Rs 25,667 crore or 71.3 per cent, compared to Rs 10,088 crore reported by private-sector lenders.

“An assessment of bank group-wise fraud cases over the last three years indicates that while private-sector banks reported a maximum number of frauds, public sector banks continued to contribute the maximum to the fraud amount,” said the report.

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Digital Payments

Data for FY25 shows that digital payments recorded the highest number of fraud cases in the banking sector, with 13,516 incidents, accounting for 56.5 per cent of all cases, and involving Rs 520 crore. In contrast, the advances segment saw fewer cases (7,950), but these accounted for more than 92 per cent of the total fraud amount, at Rs 33,148 crore.

According to the RBI, most frauds by number occurred in digital payment channels such as cards and internet transactions, while the highest value of frauds was concentrated in the loan portfolio. Private-sector banks reported the largest number of card and internet fraud cases, whereas frauds in public-sector banks were predominantly related to loans.

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