Delhi cybercrime: 376 cases of over ₹50 lakh fraud in 2025

Cases were largely linked to investment frauds, so-called “digital arrest” scams and impersonation rackets, with victims often being psychologically coerced into transferring large sums of money.

NEW DELHI:

Investment frauds constituted the bulk of high-value cases in 2025, with 230 reports registered by IFSO, the data showed.

At least 376 high-value cybercrime cases involving cheating of more than ₹50 lakh each were registered in Delhi in 2025, underlining the growing scale and sophistication of financial fraud targeting residents of the Capital, showed Delhi Police data shared by officials on Monday.

The cases, filed by the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of Delhi Police, were largely linked to investment frauds, so-called “digital arrest” scams and impersonation rackets, with victims often being psychologically coerced into transferring large sums of money within hours, investigators said.

Investment frauds constituted the bulk of high-value cases in 2025, with 230 reports registered by IFSO, the data showed. These were followed by 57 “digital arrest” scams – where fraudsters pose as law enforcement officials, court authorities or government officers and threaten victims with arrest. Other financial frauds accounted for 29 cases, while impersonation and non-financial cyber offences stood at 10 and 11 cases respectively, the data showed.

Though exact figures of overall cybercrimes were not disclosed, investigators familiar with the statistics said UPI-linked scams made up around 40–45% of total complaints in Delhi, followed by investment frauds at 30–35%. Digital arrest scams accounted for 10-15% of cases. Internet banking frauds contributed 10–15%, impersonation scams 5–10%, job-related frauds 5–10% and social media-linked frauds around 5%, the data showed.

“These are no longer random or opportunistic scams. Most high-value cyber frauds are carefully planned operations,” said a senior police officer. “Criminals use fake identities, forged documents, multiple SIM cards and mule bank accounts to move money quickly. In digital arrest and investment fraud cases, victims are often psychologically pressured into transferring large amounts within a very short span.”

Arrest-related data indicates that many cyber fraudsters were traced to Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Haryana. While Jharkhand’s Jamtara is widely known as a cybercrime hub, police said arrests are rarely made of the primary operators based there.

“Most arrests involve people who provide bank details to operate mule accounts or those who facilitate fund movement,” the officer said. “The data also points to inter-state networks operating through call centres and encrypted messaging platforms.”

Interestingly, data from the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) shows the highest volume of victim complaints originates from Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu – states with high digital transaction usage and greater complainant awareness.

Overall, however, the surge in cybercrime losses over the past decade has been staggering. From ₹6.3 crore in 2015, total losses in Delhi skyrocketed to ₹1,271 crore in 2025 – a 190-fold increase, as reported previously by HT. While the number of cases remained relatively stable between 2024 and 2025, financial losses rose by roughly 10%, data showed.