Bengaluru citizens lose over Rs 1,200 crore to online fraud with low recovery rate

Bengaluru city police data reveals that citizens collectively lost a staggering Rs 1,261 crore to various forms of online fraud till August 2025. What is alarming is that despite swift responses in several cases, the recovery rate remains abysmally low — only about 4% of the stolen money has been traced and returned.

According to data, accessed by DH, while the number of cybercrime cases has seen a slight dip this year compared to the last two years (see box), the detection ratio continues to remain poor.

Investment frauds — particularly those linked to online trading platforms and fake stock investment schemes — have shown a marked rise, alongside scams involving bogus job offers. 

Conversely, crimes related to digital arrests and credit card fraud have shown a downward trend.

However, ‘miscellaneous’ cyber offences such as posting abusive or anti-social content on social media and fake customer care scams continue to be widespread. 

Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh told DH that one of the key challenges to detecting cyber fraud is the timely reporting of the crime. 

“Delay in reporting makes it harder to trace the transactions because money is quickly transferred across multiple accounts. Timely intervention will help police launch investigations immediately.” He added that presenting technical evidence in court also poses several significant challenges.

A senior officer with the cybercrime police told DH that despite increased public awareness, cybercriminals continue to outsmart victims through sophisticated methods, often leveraging artificial intelligence tools. 

“In a recent case,  BJP leader Dr K Sudhakar’s wife lost Rs 14 lakh to cyber fraudsters. The caller posed as an officer from the Mumbai Cyber Crime Department, claiming her credentials had been misused to obtain a credit card,” the officer said.

“We were alerted within the golden hour, tracked the bank accounts to which the money was transferred, it was then frozen and we soon managed to recover the amount. But in most cases, the accused operate from abroad using fake KYCs and mule bank accounts, which makes it difficult to apprehend them,” explained the officer. 

In another high-profile case, a former MLA from Bidar district lost ₹31 lakh in a digital arrest scam.

The accused, traced to a goshala where he was working, fled the spot before police could detain him.

“The money had already been credited to the goshala’s bank account and due to technical glitches, we couldn’t recover it,” the officer said.

AI-based tools to track fraud networks

Another officer said cybercrime investigators had also started using AI-based tools to detect and track fraud networks. “We can’t reveal the modus operandi, but technology is being used on both sides — by criminals and by investigators. In some instances, victims themselves delete crucial information, making the investigation harder,” he noted.

Police have urged citizens to immediately report any suspected cybercrime within the ‘golden hour’ — the critical window during which investigators can alert banks and freeze fraudulent transactions.

Seemant Kumar Singh