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Between 2021 and 2025, more than 65.89 lakh financial cyber-fraud complaints were reported through India’s National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.

During the same period, more than 1.95 lakh FIRs were registered.

The number of reported cyber-fraud incidents is enormous - but filing a complaint is only the beginning. What happens next depends on the investigation and action by the relevant law-enforcement authorities.

SourceMinistry of Home Affairs / Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal & CFCFRMS, data for 2021–2025.

SIM-box machines illegally convert international scam calls into local Indian numbers, making victims believe the caller is nearby while hiding the real location of the fraud network.

Recent police investigations uncovered SIM-box setups routing foreign scam calls through Indian cities using hundreds of SIM cards, often from rented rooms where locals believed telecom or “network office” work was happening.

SourceDepartment of Telecommunications (DoT) / Cybercrime police investigations / Indian Express reports

Many cyber fraud groups now recruit and train people with fixed roles, scripted conversations, and daily scam targets.

Investigations across Southeast Asia found over 400,000 people from 70+ countries trapped or recruited into organized scam compounds targeting victims globally through professional fraud operations.

SourceUnited Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) / International cybercrime investigations

Cyber fraud money rarely stays in one account - it moves through rented “mule accounts” taken from ordinary people who are paid small amounts to hand over banking access.

Indian cybercrime agencies have flagged lakhs of mule accounts linked to fraud operations, with investigations showing stolen money can disappear across multiple accounts within minutes before victims even realize the scam.

SourceIndian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) / Enforcement Directorate / Cybercrime investigation reports

Investment scams can begin with attractive returns, professional-looking platforms, trading groups or someone posing as an investment expert. Victims may initially see apparent profits on the platform, but when they try to withdraw their money, they may be asked to pay additional fees, taxes or deposits — or the platform may simply stop responding.

In 2024, India recorded 19.18 lakh financial cyber-fraud complaints, with ₹22,848 crore reported as the amount involved. Investment fraud is one of the major categories of online financial fraud.

SourceNational Cyber Crime Reporting Portal & CFCFRMS. 2024 data

Across parts of Southeast Asia, organized scam compounds operate like closed digital fraud factories where people are trained or forced to run scams targeting victims worldwide.

International investigations estimate that over 400,000 people from 70+ countries have been trapped or recruited into these cyber scam operations across Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos.

SourceUnited Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) / International cybercrime investigations

Modern fraud networks buy and reuse leaked personal data to create believable scam identities, fake accounts, and targeted fraud campaigns against ordinary people.

A massive database containing personal details linked to over 81.5 crore Indians was reportedly found circulating online, exposing how identity data has become a large-scale underground trade.

SourceResecurity cybersecurity investigation / Indian Express / Data breach reports

In many cyber fraud cases, stolen money is moved through layered banking channels so quickly that victims lose the chance to trace where it actually went.

Indian cybercrime authorities reported cyber fraud losses crossing ₹11,000 crore in 2024, with thousands of complaints involving rapid fund transfers across mule-account networks within minutes of the scam.

SourceIndian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) / Ministry of Home Affairs / Cyber fraud reporting data