India has become a hub for financial fraud, with a significant increase in financial frauds and cyber crimes over the past decade. The country has long been known for online scams targeting individuals in the U.S. and other nations globally.
Financial cybercrimes originating from India are now spreading worldwide, with innocent people falling victim to scams under the pretext of technical support. These scams involve individuals sharing their personal details, such as credit card or bank account information, leading to fraudulent activities.
International reports highlight that in 2022, Indian national Hitesh Madhubhai Patel was sentenced to 20 years in prison for defrauding American clients of millions of dollars through call centers in India between 2013 and 2016. A large proportion of these fraudulent activities targeted elderly citizens aged 60 and above.
In June 2023, the FBI uncovered a call center in Delhi that had defrauded American citizens of nearly 20 million USD. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. citizens have lost over 10 billion dollars due to fraud linked to call centers, which operate as fake customer service centers or tech support businesses, tricking unsuspecting victims.
The Criminal Investigation Department reports that the money obtained from such frauds is often deposited in bank accounts in the UK, Dubai, and India. On January 8, 2025, Apple Inc. fired 185 employees involved in a scam that misused the Apple Matching Grants program, embezzling millions. Indian employees were found to have colluded with non-profit organizations to embezzle funds.
In 2022, two Indian nationals were sentenced to 41 months in prison for conspiring in computer fraud that resulted in the illegal acquisition of 1.2 million USD from victims in the U.S. Last year, Sri Lankan police arrested 200 foreign nationals, many of whom were Indian, involved in online financial fraud.
According to international media, call center frauds in India have become a growing concern, as fraudulent activities target both domestic and international individuals. Multiple call centers operating under the guise of Indian tech support companies are scamming people, particularly in the U.S., with such scams amounting to over 10 billion dollars in losses in 2022 alone.
According to India’s Cyber Crime Coordination Center, more than 740,000 cases were reported in the first four months of 2024. Around 85% of these cases were related to online financial fraud. The number of bank fraud cases in India has doubled over the last eight years.
In 2024, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reported over 13,000 instances of bank fraud. The total value of banking frauds for the first half of the financial year 2024-2025 was estimated at 21,367 crore rupees. Bank account takeover attacks accounted for 55% of all fraud cases in India, showing a rising threat.
Indian mafia gangs are gaining access to people’s mobile phones through fake links, stealing personal data, and profiting from it. Card and internet payment frauds led to over 3,000 reported cases in 2022, which is expected to reach nearly 30,000 cases by 2024. In light of these alarming statistics, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has urged India to expedite legal proceedings related to financial fraud cases. The involvement of Indian fraudsters in scamming innocent people in the U.S., UK, and other countries has become a regular occurrence.