India’s suspected digital fraud rate reached 7.1% in 2025, nearly double the global average of 3.8%, according to a TransUnion report that points to a sharp rise in identity theft, account takeovers and login-based cyber fraud. The findings show that fraudsters are increasingly targeting legitimate user accounts instead of relying mainly on fake account creation or payment-related scams.
The report says the nature of digital fraud in India is changing as online transactions and digital services expand across sectors. Cybercriminals are now focusing on stolen identities, compromised credentials and existing accounts, creating a more sophisticated threat for consumers and businesses.
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Login Stage Records Highest Fraud Risk
The highest fraud risk in India was recorded during the account login stage. According to the report, 3.9% of account login transactions in 2025 were flagged as suspected fraud attempts.
By comparison, suspected fraud stood at 3.1% during account creation and 1.2% during financial transactions. The pattern suggests that attackers are increasingly trying to enter genuine user accounts, rather than only creating fraudulent profiles or directly attempting payment fraud.
The report links this shift to credential theft, phishing campaigns, data breaches, stolen passwords and social engineering. Once criminals gain access to legitimate accounts, they can misuse identities, carry out unauthorized transactions and enable wider financial fraud.
Logistics, Telecom and Insurance Among Worst Hit
The logistics sector recorded the highest suspected fraud rate among industries studied, with 16.3% of digital transactions identified as suspected fraud attempts. Telecommunications followed with 14.7%, while insurance recorded 11.5%.
The report indicates that these sectors face heightened exposure because of real-time customer interactions, large digital networks and frequent transactions. These conditions can create openings for attackers to exploit weaknesses in identity verification and authentication systems.
The telecommunications sector has drawn particular concern, with the report noting the largest increase in suspected digital fraud activity originating from India among the industries examined. Fraud methods involving mobile numbers, SIM-swapping, OTP interception and gaps in identity verification have created new risks for users and service providers.
Identity-Based Fraud Seen as Growing Challenge
Cybercrime expert and former IPS officer Prof. Triveni Singh said criminals are not exploiting only technological weaknesses, but are also manipulating human trust. He cited phishing links, fake customer-support calls, fraudulent investment schemes, bogus job offers and social media-based deception as methods used to obtain identity-related information.
He said identity-based cybercrime is likely to become one of the most significant cybersecurity challenges in the coming years. As criminals gain access to personal credentials and digital identities, the risk of financial loss and reputational damage rises for individuals and organizations.
The report also warns that fraudsters are increasingly targeting the earliest stages of the digital customer journey. By exploiting account registration and login processes, attackers can remain undetected until financial losses begin to build. Cybersecurity specialists have called for stronger identity protection measures, including multi-factor authentication, behavioural verification, AI-powered fraud detection, continuous monitoring and wider consumer awareness.
