The highest number of frauds was reported under the card, Internet, and digital payments categories in FY24 and FY25. ‘Advances’ accounted for the largest share (85.5 per cent) in FY26.
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Banks in the country reported fewer fraud cases in the financial year 2025-2026 (FY26), but the total amount involved rose to its highest in three years, driven by cheating in loans and advances and concentrated in state-owned lenders.
The industry reported frauds worth Rs 48,021 crore (Rs 480.21 billion) in FY26, up 46.4 per cent from Rs 32,803 crore (Rs 328.03 billion) in FY25, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India in its latest annual report.
The fraud amount for FY26 is more than four times the Rs 11,013 crore (Rs 110.13 billion) reported in FY24.
Key Points
- Bank fraud amount surged 46.4 per cent in FY26 despite a steep fall in reported fraud cases.
- Frauds worth Rs 48,021 crore were reported in FY26, the highest level recorded in three financial years.
- Public-sector banks accounted for nearly three-fourths of total fraud amounts reported during the financial year 2025-2026.
- Loan and advances frauds formed the biggest category, contributing nearly 85 per cent of the total value involved.
- Digital payment fraud cases and amounts dropped sharply compared with FY24 and FY25, RBI data showed.
RBI Flags Fraud Divergence
RBI said data of 2025-2026 includes fraud classification in 314 cases amounting to Rs 30,199 crore (Rs 301.99 billion), pertaining to previous financial years, reported afresh during the current financial year after re-examination and ensuring compliance with the Supreme Court judgment, dated March 27, 2023.
RBI data shows that 10,114 fraud cases were reported in FY26, almost 57.4 per cent down compared to 23,722 the previous year.
The volume of frauds reduced by 71.7 per cent compared to 35,800 cases in FY24.
The data highlights a sharp three-year divergence: While the volume of reported frauds fell by more than two-thirds between FY24 and FY26, the value involved increased by 336 per cent.
‘An assessment of bank group-wise fraud cases over the last three years indicates that although the number of frauds for public- and private-sectors banks have reduced, the amount involved has increased over the years,’ the RBI said.
Loan Frauds Dominate FY26
While the highest number of frauds was reported under the card, Internet, and digital payments categories in FY24 and FY25, ‘advances’ accounted for the largest share (85.5 per cent) in FY26.
‘In value terms, frauds were concentrated in the advances category across the three years,’ said the central bank.
PSU Banks See Sharp Rise
Public-sector banks reported the largest share of frauds in FY26, involving Rs 35,709 crore (Rs 357.09 billion), up 51.2 per cent from Rs 23,617 crore (Rs 236.17 billion) in FY25 and more than four times the Rs 8,092 crore (Rs 80.92 billion) seen in FY24.
Their share of total fraud amounts climbed to 74.5 per cent in FY26, up from 72 per cent in FY25 and 73.5 per cent in FY24.
Public-sector banks reported 5,418 fraud cases in FY26, declining from 6,916 in FY25 and 7,446 in FY24.
On the other hand, private banks reported fraud cases amounting to Rs 11,399 crore (Rs 113.99 billion) in FY26, up 27.7 per cent from Rs 8,927 crore (Rs 89.27 billion) in FY25 and more than four times the Rs 2,667 crore (Rs 26.67 billion) reported in FY24.
However, private banks accounted for only 23.7 per cent of the total amount involved in frauds in FY26 though they reported 39.1 per cent of all cases.
Advances Category Tops Losses
Frauds related to advances amounted to Rs 40,774 crore (Rs 407.74 billion) in FY26, up 34.3 per cent from Rs 30,367 crore (Rs 303.67 billion) in FY25 and 357.5 per cent higher than the Rs 8,917 crore (Rs 89.17 billion) reported in FY24.
Advances accounted for 84.9 per cent of the total amount involved in frauds in FY26, compared with 92.6 per cent in FY25 and 81 per cent in FY24.
The number of fraud cases linked to advances rose to 8,640 in FY26 from 7,924 in FY25 and 4,105 in FY24.
Digital Payment Frauds Fall
Frauds involving cards, Internet banking and digital payments fell sharply both in value and volume terms.
The number of digital payment frauds declined to 293 in FY26 from 13,332 in FY25 and 28,836 in FY24.
The amount involved fell to Rs 29 crore (Rs 290 million) from Rs 517 crore (Rs 5.17 billion) in FY25 and Rs 1,452 crore (Rs 14.52 billion) in FY24.
Digital payment frauds accounted for 80.4 per cent of all cases in FY24.
In FY26, their share dropped to 2.9 per cent.
Other kinds of fraud were relatively small compared with ‘advances’.
Deposit-related frauds amounted to Rs 377 crore (Rs 3.77 billion) in FY26, down 27.6 per cent from Rs 521 crore (Rs 5.21 billion) in FY25 but more than the Rs 240 crore (Rs 2.40 billion) reported in FY24.
The amount involved in the ‘others’ category rose to Rs 6,063 crore (Rs 60.63 billion) in FY26 from Rs 971 crore (Rs 9.71 billion) a year earlier and Rs 35 crore (Rs 350 million) in FY24, increasing its share of total fraud amounts to 12.6 per cent from 3 per cent in FY25.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff
