Ahmedabad: Gujarat reported bank frauds involving Rs 3,707.7 crore over the last three financial years. This is the sixth-highest among all other Indian states and Union Territories, according to Reserve Bank of India data.The value of reported frauds increased each year, rising 30.4% from Rs 986.2 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 1,285.9 crore in 2024-25, before increasing another 11.6% to Rs 1,435.6 crore in 2025-26. Overall, the value of reported frauds was 45.6% higher than three years earlier.Only Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu reported higher cumulative fraud amounts during the three-year period. Maharashtra topped the list with Rs 32,297.9 crore, followed by Delhi (Rs 16,396.6 crore) and West Bengal (Rs 10,309.6 crore).Banking sector sources attribute the rise in value to better reporting, and improved awareness among citizens. A number of banks have also significantly strengthened customer awareness campaigns as well as their internal monitoring systems.“There has been no significant change in banking fraud trends over the past four to five years. People continue to fall prey to malicious APK links, fake KYC update requests from fraudsters posing as bank officials, and scams involving credit card offers or bill payment requests that trick them into sharing their banking details. A large proportion of the victims are elderly citizens who are not very tech-savvy,” said a senior officer investigating cybercrime cases.On the recovery of defrauded money, the officer said victims have a good chance of getting their funds frozen or recovered if they report the fraud to the cybercrime helpline within the first hour. “Timely reporting enables banks and other agencies to act quickly. However, many victims delay approaching the police or the cybercrime helpline, reducing the chances of recovering their money,” the officer said.Officials at the State CID Crime’s Cyber Centre of Excellence did not comment on the issue.The data shows that reported bank frauds remain concentrated in India’s largest commercial and financial centres. The six leading states together accounted for over Rs 72,000 crore in reported frauds during the three-year period, with Gujarat among this group of high-value states.Despite the rise in recoveries, only a fraction of the money involved in reported frauds has been recovered. In Gujarat, banks recovered Rs 96.58 crore i.e. 2.6% out of Rs 3,707.67 crore involved in reported frauds over the three financial years.The trend is similar across major states. Maharashtra recovered 3% of the Rs 32,297.9 crore involved in reported frauds, while Karnataka’s recovery rate stood at 2.3%. West Bengal was a notable exception, recovering 16.1% of the Rs 10,309.6 crore involved during the period.Gujarat nevertheless ranked ahead of other major industrial states, including Karnataka (Rs 2,916 crore), Uttar Pradesh (Rs 2,699.7 crore) and Punjab (Rs 2,253.9 crore) over the three financial years.
