India is seeing a rise in amount involved in bank frauds while the number of cases has fallen, raising some concern among consumers.

The value of bank frauds for the April-September period this year rose 30% to Rs 21,515 crore from Rs 16,569 crore a year ago, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed.

The reported fraud cases, however, fell 2.8 times to 5,092 in the first half of the current fiscal from 18,386 in the year-ago period.

This is a trend which was also visible in the financial year ended March 2025. Banks reported 23,879 frauds amounting to Rs 34,771 crore compared with 36,052 frauds worth Rs 11,261 crore in 2023-24, according to the RBI’s report on ‘Trends and Progress of Banking in India’ 2024-25.

The rise in the value of frauds in H1FY26 was mainly due to the re-examination and reporting afresh of 122 cases amounting to Rs 18,336 crore, after ensuring compliance with the Supreme Court's judgment dated March 27, 2023, the report said.

For the April-September period this year, the share of high-value frauds, however, is showing signs of declining. According to the RBI data, banks reported 509 frauds of Rs 1 lakh and above amounting to a total of Rs 111 crore. This is against reported bank frauds of 11,615 amounting to Rs 3,497 crore in the April-September a year ago.

As on 30 September 2025, banks and financial institutions withdrew 942 frauds amounting to Rs 1,28,031 crore due to non-compliance with the principles of natural justice, in line with the Supreme Court judgment.

Card and internet frauds dominate

Card and internet frauds accounted for 66.8% of total fraud cases reported during 2024-25.

In terms of amount, the share of advances-related frauds was 33.1%.

Private banks accounted for 59.3% of the total number of reported frauds in 2024-25, with advance-related frauds occupying the largest share by value, and card and internet-related frauds in terms of value.

Public sector banks, in contrast, reported the highest share of frauds related to advances, both in terms of number of cases and the amount involved. They accounted for 70.7% of the amount involved.

The share of card and internet frauds declined across all bank groups in both number and amount involved during 2024–25, the report noted.

“The share of advances-related frauds, both in terms of number and amount, increased across all bank groups (except for PSBs in terms of amount), primarily due to a significant portion of reclassified frauds being associated with advances,” it added.

The RBI said it continues to work with stakeholders, including the ministry of home affairs, to develop and operationalise measures to curb digital and cyber-enabled fraud and strengthen customer protection.

“REs (regulated entities) need to put in place robust internal controls, ensure sufficient grievance redress officers at all levels, and enhance digital financial literacy to address digital frauds,” the report said.

The RBI’s recent initiatives include the development of MuleHunter.ai to facilitate system-wide learning to identify and flag potential mule accounts implemented in 23 banks as of 17 December 2025.

Another initiative is a digital payments intelligence platform (DPIP) to leverage AI to flag risky transactions and share intelligence for fraud detection and prevention.

The RBI further said instructions related to limited liability of customers in unauthorised electronic banking transactions, issued in 2017, are being reviewed in view of major shifts in the banking landscape, including the emergence of new payment channels, higher volumes of digital transactions, and evolving fraud patterns.

"This is expected to improve customer safeguards," the report said.

The Reserve Bank further said its regulatory and supervisory policies remain focused on reinforcing cybersecurity, mitigating fraud, enhancing customer protection, integrating climate risk awareness and preserving financial stability as an overarching goal.

“Frauds present multiple challenges by exposing financial institutions to reputational, operational and business risks while also weakening customer trust,” the RBI said.