E-transaction rip-off value up by over 350 per cent

Case count of e-transaction frauds involving more than Rs 1 lakh jumped by over 100 per cent and the value of the loss by over 350 per cent in just two years.
A man counts Indian rupee banknotes after withdrawing them from State Bank of India ATM in Kolkata, India | (File | Reuters)
A man counts Indian rupee banknotes after withdrawing them from State Bank of India ATM in Kolkata, India | (File | Reuters)

NEW DELHI: Amid the big push towards digital transaction ever since demonetisation happened, it would be sobering to note that the case count of e-transaction frauds involving more than Rs 1 lakh jumped by over 100 per cent and the value of the loss by over 350 per cent in just two years.

According to the latest RBI data, while the total number of such frauds was 1,191 in 2015-16, it rose to 1,372 the next year and leapt to 2,488 in 2017-18. The money involved in such frauds was about Rs 40.20 crore in 2015-16, Rs 43.18 crore the next fiscal and more than tripled to Rs 149.62 crore in 2017-18.

Most of the cases were registered in a few states like Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

In the first three months of this financial year (April-June 2018-19) alone, 661 cases of frauds involving Rs 34.36 crore have been registered.

Just the other day, it was announced that incentive on cashless payment at fuel vends would stay, though at a reduced level. The government has also been incentivising the use of its digital platform, BHIM. On Saturday last, the Goods and Services Tax Council cleared a pilot project to offer 20% cashback of the GST paid on business-to-consumer transactions using RuPay and BHIM platforms, with to a cap of Rs 100 per transaction.

For their part, officials said cyber security threats are reviewed continuously and necessary measures taken to strengthen cyber resilience. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) under the ministry of IT monitors India’s cyberspace and sends out alerts.

YearNo of e-transactions fraudsAmount involved (in lakh)
2015-1611914020.12
2016-1713724318.48
2017-18248814962.55
2018-19 (April—June)6613436.84

States Having Maximum cases

States No. of frauds
Maharashtra784
Haryana419
Delhi257
Tamil Nadu222
Karnataka160

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