Online Financial Fraud Rising In India: From Dubious Websites To Credit Card Scams

A survey has indicated that Indian families are increasingly being targeted by scammers to extort or steal money online. Concerningly, a comparatively small percentage of the families duped were able to recover their funds.

Indians are one of the most vulnerable to online financial frauds and scams. Moreover, it is not just individual scammers, but websites and other threats too, which can rob money, indicated a new survey.

Where Did Indians Lose Their Money Online?

Online survey firm LocalCircles has compiled a report on the online threats that Indians face. The firm has revealed the survey received nearly 32,000 responses from families located in 331 districts of India.

About 39 percent of respondents were from Tier 1 cities, 35 percent from Tier 2 towns, and 26 percent of respondents were from Tier 3, 4, and rural districts. The survey included 66 percent male respondents and 34 percent women. Needless to say, the demographic surveyed is quite widespread, and hence, could reflect the experiences of Indian internet users in general.

According to the survey, credit and debit card fraud remains the top threat when online. Around 23 percent of respondents claimed they had experienced scams that involved these payment methods.

The second-most common threat lurked in the websites that relied on users to post ads. Thirteen percent of respondents indicated they were defrauded by buying, selling, and classified site users.

Recovering Money Continues To Remain A Difficult Task For Indians

Online scams involve money being transferred to scammers via websites and digital bank transactions. There are procedures and agencies to report cybercrimes. However, recovering stolen money continues to remain a difficult or arduous task, indicated the survey.

The survey indicated that around 39 percent of respondents have experienced financial fraud in the last three years. One of the questions in the survey asked respondents if they were able to recover their funds. Less than a quarter of the 11,305 responses to the question indicated victims were able to get back their funds.

An overwhelming 70 percent of respondents claimed they could not get any resolution to their complaint. This may suggest Indians either lack knowledge of remedial actions or are being ignored by agencies set up to address online fraud. However, 41 percent of respondents indicated that the agencies maintained that their matter is still pending, eventually leading to a stalemate.

When asked how they got their money back, 18 percent of respondents claimed they filed a complaint with the designated platform or entity and got back the money. Six percent indicated they filed a complaint with authorities and recovered their money.