Cybercrime in India - The Fraud Epidemic
Cyber fraud is India's fastest-growing crime; organised fraud cost Indians more than Rs 22,800 crore in 2024. States police it under the State List, while the Centre builds the tools: the Home Ministry's I4C and its 1930 helpline, the telecom department's fraud-risk scoring and AI screening of mobile connections, and TRAI's trusted number series. On 9 October 2026 India welcomed a proposal from the ITU, the global telecom standards body, for joint trials against cross-border telecom fraud, two weeks after signing the UN Convention against Cybercrime, which is not yet in force.
- cybercrime
- I4C
- Sanchar Saathi
- digital arrest
- mule accounts
- 1930 helpline
- Boss Scam
- TRAI 1601
- UN Convention against Cybercrime
- Hanoi Convention
- CFCFRMS
- ASTR
- ITU
- telecom fraud
- cyber fraud
- Financial Fraud Risk Indicator
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