India plans nationwide drive to curb digital fraud

New Delhi: With digital frauds surging, the government is planning a nationwide financial and digital literacy drive to tap grassroots workers and local institutions to curb rising scams, including so-called “digital arrest” frauds, according to three people aware of the matter.

The effort will combine grassroots awareness with technology-led safeguards, including AI-based transaction monitoring, dedicated grievance redress systems and closer coordination between regulators, banks and state agencies, one of the people cited above told Mint.

The plan includes measurable targets for banks to promote safe digital behaviour and fraud awareness, while focusing on vulnerable users such as senior citizens, first-time digital customers and rural households, these people said.

“There is increasing recognition that fraud prevention cannot rely only on policing after the event. Literacy, early warning systems and local trust networks are equally important,” a second person aware of the matter said.

About 2.8 million cybercrime complaints were registered in 2025, with losses of ₹44,000 crore across 2024 and 2025. Since 2022, the home ministry has recorded over 241,000 complaints related to digital arrest scams alone, involving losses of approximately ₹30,000 crore.

As part of the outreach, the government will mobilize ASHA workers, Anganwadi staff, Bima Sakhis, Bank Sakhis and Pension Sakhis, among others, for village- and community-level awareness campaigns. Special modules for school and senior-secondary students will also be created for early financial awareness, with the National Centre for Financial Education (NCFE) running coordinated campaigns involving NGOs and trusts.

The scale of the outreach is significant. India has over 1.05 million ASHA workers, 1.3 million Anganwadi workers, and more than 200,00 Bima Sakhis in the country, according to various estimates.

"Victims frequently speak of embarrassment, hesitation, and even repression. Many do not report the offence, fearing stigma or disbelief. In doing so, the crime achieves a second, more insidious effect: it completely isolates the victim,” Chief Justice Kant said at an event on Monday.

A third person aware of the matter said the government is preparing an AI-based system to block suspicious transactions in real time, especially where unusual transfers, multiple mule accounts or panic-driven large remittances are detected.

“Technology has to work as a shield for citizens. If fraudsters use speed and fear, the system must use alerts and friction,” the third official said.

An email sent late on Monday to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) remained unanswered till press time.

“As digital dependence increases, the possibility of people falling into cyber traps also rises significantly…On a daily basis, we are seeing cases where even educated individuals are being trapped in scams such as ‘digital arrest’,” said Vinit Kumar, deputy commissioner of police, Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations, Delhi Police.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Kant on 16 December 2025 had directed inter-departmental consultations under the guidance of attorney general R. Venkataramani on the issue and sought to be apprised of the outcome. Subsequently, in February, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed the Supreme Court that it had constituted a high-level inter-departmental committee (IDC) to address systemic gaps and ensure real-time protection for cybercrime victims.

Sophisticated scams are increasingly targeting vulnerable banking users, often exploiting them as mule accounts to move illicit funds, said Sadaf Sayeed, chief executive officer of Muthoot Microfin, adding that a nationwide awareness campaign is critical to help at-risk segments recognise such threats, prevent fraud and avoid being misused for routing proceeds of cybercrime.