&w=3840&q=100)
1 in 5 UPI users faced fraud; 51% victims didn't report, reveals survey
One in five families with a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) user has experienced fraud at least once in the past three years, according to a new survey conducted by LocalCircles. The findings come as UPI transactions have soared, with 185.8 billion transactions recorded in FY2024–25 — a 41.7 per cent increase from the previous year, accounting for 83.4 per cent of the total digital payment volume in the country.
The survey, which gathered over 32,000 responses from UPI users across 365 districts, found that fraudsters are exploiting the rapid adoption of UPI through a variety of tactics. Of those who reported experiencing fraud:
Many victims experienced more than one type of fraud, underscoring the sophisticated and evolving methods used by cybercriminals.
Underreporting of fraud incidents
A particularly concerning finding is that 51 per cent of those who experienced UPI fraud did not file any official complaint, whether with the police, their bank, the UPI platform, or regulatory bodies such as the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) or the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This significant underreporting suggests that the true scale of UPI-related fraud is likely much higher than official statistics indicate.
Regulatory and technological response
The RBI's Annual Report for FY2024–25 noted a sharp rise in digital payment frauds, with 13,516 cases accounting for 56.5 per cent of all reported banking frauds and losses totalling Rs 520 crore. While not all these cases are UPI-specific, the inclusion of UPI in these figures reflects its vulnerability as a target for fraudsters.
To combat these threats, several measures have been implemented:
- The RBI has set up the Central Payment Fraud Information Registry (CPFIR), which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to track and report payment frauds.
- Security features such as device binding, PIN-based two-factor authentication, and daily transaction limits have been introduced. The daily UPI transaction limit is Rs 1 lakh, with higher limits for specific transaction types.
- The government has launched the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal and helpline 1930 for reporting suspicious activities.
- The RBI is developing a Digital Payments Intelligence Platform, leveraging advanced technologies for real-time fraud detection and mitigation. A committee led by former NPCI MD and CEO AP Hota is overseeing this initiative.
- In December 2024, the RBI introduced MuleHunter.AI, an AI-ML-based tool to identify mule accounts used for illegal activities, piloted successfully in two public sector banks.
- Exclusive internet domains (.bank.in and .fin.in) are being rolled out to combat phishing and enhance trust in digital banking.
Public awareness, need for simplified reporting
Despite these measures, user feedback from the survey indicates a pressing need for easier, single-click fraud complaint reporting that is both responsive and effective. Many users expressed frustration with the complexity and inefficiency of current reporting mechanisms. The study recommends that all stakeholders—including the government, RBI, NPCI, banks, and payment platforms — work towards a streamlined, user-friendly system for fraud reporting, with timely response and resolution.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
30 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Slice SFB aiming to close FY26 in black, not looking to raise any capital
Slice Small Finance Bank has turned profitable on a monthly basis and is aiming to close FY26 in the black, a top official has said. The entity, which came out of a surprising merger between the fintech Slice and the North East SFB a few months ago, is adequately capitalised and not looking to raise any capital, its executive director Rajan Bajaj told PTI. The current focus is to build a pan-India business using the low-cost digital channels, and the entity is not interested in any more mergers, Bajaj said, adding that it may look at transitioning to a universal bank in the next five years. Before the merger, the North East SFB had reported a loss of Rs 441 crore, and Slice was also reporting losses. "We have turned profitable post-tax on a monthly basis and will close the year in profits," Bajaj said. The bank is adequately capitalised and the buffers will also be supported by the profits, he added. As per recent media reports, the bank was aiming to raise up to USD 300 million in capital. It is adding up to 3 lakh new accounts to its base on the back of digital journeys, Bajaj said, pointing out that the savings bank interest rate offering is at par with the RBI's repo rate and the fixed deposit offerings are a notch higher, which is helping in attracting customers. The pace of account opening is the fifth or the sixth fastest in the industry and at par with much bigger rivals, he said. On the lending front, it does consumer credit including unsecured personal loans and business credit which includes loans against property, he said, stressing that the focus is on serving people who may be underserved by the banking system. Aiming for a big increase in its borrowers and loan portfolio, the bank launched a UPI-based credit card on Saturday, Bajaj said, pointing out that over 30 crore of UPI users can be the potential target audience for such an offering. The bank stands to make an interchange of up to 1 per cent depending on where the credit facility is availed, and will also make revenues from rollovers and fees, he said. Bajaj said its personal credit vertical has been able to deliver credit at a cost which is a tenth of the industry courtesy digital inputs, and added that the credit costs are also 30 per cent lower than the industry average because of the analytics engine which is used for diligence. The bank also launched a 'UPI-powered bank branch' in Bengaluru, which can be used by any bank's customers for a slew of transactions, including cash deposits into any account using cash accepting machine, and then remitting the money to any mobile number, Bajaj said.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
30 minutes ago
- Business Standard
RBL Bank eyes wider margin from retail, CV finance rollout in 3 months
RBL Bank is aiming to widen its net interest margins (NIM) from retail assets by shifting the portfolio mix towards higher-yielding assets, a senior official has said. As part of the same strategy, the private sector lender will launch a commercial vehicle (CV) financing and used 4-wheeler finance in the next three months. The increase in NIMs, which is being targeted at a time when the entire industry is facing challenges on this front, will be achieved while maintaining the retail share in the overall loan mix at around 31 per cent level, Kumar Ashish, its head of retail assets and collections, told PTI. Ashish, however, did not share the current NIMs of the retail business nor did he share an aspirational number. It had reported a sharp decline in the overall NIMs to 4.89 per cent as against 5.45 per cent, and the narrowing was one of the reasons along with setbacks in the MFI business for the 76 per cent drop in the Q4 net profit at Rs 86 crore. He said at the bank level, it is aiming for expanding NIMs to 5.1 per cent. In retail assets, the bank's focus relies on going deeper into tier-II and III cities, where the bank already has a distribution network courtesy its 550 branches and over 1,500 business correspondent touchpoints. After understanding the customer needs and tailoring the product mix, it will focus on quicker turnaround times for delivering credit in categories such as tractor finance, gold loans, homes loans, business loans and the upcoming businesses, he said. Admitting that RBL Bank is a "challenger bank" in many of the retail businesses and will be up against aggressive competition, Ashish said it will have to find new niche of customers whose needs are unfulfilled, use a lot digital inputs for loan underwriting, depend on quicker turnaround times and have a control over the costs to deliver on higher NIMs. Citing the case of home loans, he said the bank will focus more on the affordable housing segment while even in the soon-to-be-launched CV segment, it will go after demand from customers a notch under prime to expand margins. On the costs front, it is making best use of the existing staffing for doing more, pointing out that the talent across branches which was primarily focused on liabilities will now be doing retail credit as well. "We would have to gain market share in order to grow," Ashish, who joined the bank from Aditya Birla Capital recently, made it clear. The CV financing will be done to smaller players in smaller cities and the bank's tractor financing team will be used for distribution, he said. It is also looking to get into the used four-wheeler business, where it will be focusing on tie-ups with car reselling portals such that a customer is able to get a quote on the loan as well in a single journey after selecting his car on the website, Ashish said. Meanwhile, on the MFI business, Ashish said the collections have further improved since the late-April commentary and are getting better. The lowest point in collections was in December last, when the troubles for the industry started, he said, adding that since then the collections are steadily climbing up. Maintaining the earlier commentary, Ashish said the bank is "optimistic" about the MFI business and added that the second half of FY26 will be a better story. Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the two markets where the bank faced issues because of political moves to introduce ordinances, continue to be challenging and the bank is reducing exposure there, he said. It has a low or negligible exposure in Bihar, which is headed to polls soon. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India Today
35 minutes ago
- India Today
Canadian man stunned by Rs 19 lakh rent deposit for flat in Bengaluru
A Canadian man, currently living in Aizwal, seemingly planning to shift to Bengaluru, triggered discussion on social media after he called out the steep rental deposit system in the city's housing a now-viral post on X, Caleb Friesen shared a listing of a 3BHK flat in Bengaluru's upscale Diamond District, Domlur. While the monthly rent was listed at Rs 1.75 lakh, it was the security deposit - Rs 19.25 lakh - that shocked him the 19 lakh for security deposit! Absolutely bonkers what landlords are expecting these days. I could literally buy a new Mahindra Thar for less than this deposit,' he wrote in his post. Caleb also asked if anyone could help him find a place in or around Indiranagar with a 2-3 month deposit, keeping his rent budget between Rs 80,000 and Rs 1 lakh. See the post here:His reaction struck a chord as several Bengaluru residents flooded the comments section with their personal experiences and humour-laced takes on the rental market.'LOL. Unless they offer a butler, chef, and driver, this isn't good enough. If I pay, I want three daily massages, a hot shower, and AI playing music throughout the home. My entire home should be like Alexa. My bed should have AI providing minerals to my brain for sleep,' a user user compared the situation with Mumbai, saying, 'Glad this culture in Bengaluru real estate hasn't reached Mumbai. A landlord here asked Rs 5 lakh/month for a 4BHK with the standard 3-month deposit. The tenant offered 5 months' deposit to reduce rent to Rs 4 lakh/month. The landlord said no.'Others questioned whether renting even made financial sense anymore. 'This is why some finfluencers say buying houses is a waste of money. According to them, paying high amounts as interest-free security deposits is better than paying EMIs,' someone pointed of the users said: 'Totally insane, landlords acting like they're leasing out Mars, not a 2BHK in Indiranagar. 19L is a down payment, not a deposit.'See the comments here: Notably, this isn't the first time Caleb has made headlines for his social media posts. Earlier, he had shared a video comparing Bengaluru's chaotic traffic to the quiet streets of Aizawl, which also went post sparked more than just a chuckle. It reignited a longstanding debate on the affordability and fairness of urban housing norms, especially for tenants navigating major cities like has previously addressed the issue of India running out of affordable homes in a detailed article. Click here to read it. - EndsTrending Reel
