New Delhi: India’s fast-growing digital economy is facing a serious cybersecurity challenge, with bank frauds exceeding ₹36,000 crore reported in financial year 2025, according to a joint report by Khaitan & Co and FICCI. The report warns that artificial intelligence-driven scams, deepfake tools and cryptocurrency-related offences are rapidly reshaping the financial fraud landscape.
Digital Growth Expands Fraud Risks
The report noted that India’s digital payments ecosystem has grown sharply over the past decade, with transaction volumes increasing nearly 38-fold. While this expansion has improved financial access and convenience, it has also widened the space for cybercriminals and organised fraud networks to exploit digital vulnerabilities.
FCRF’s Flagship Cyber Law Certification Returns With a New Four-Week Cohort
Experts cited in the report said financial fraud is no longer limited to conventional banking channels. Investigators are increasingly dealing with encrypted communications, digital wallets, virtual assets and cross-border transactions, making detection and enforcement more difficult.
AI And Deepfakes Emerge As Major Threats
One of the key concerns highlighted in the report is the growing use of artificial intelligence and deepfake technologies in financial crimes. Criminals are now able to create convincing fake audio and video content to impersonate individuals, commit identity theft and carry out fraud.
Such techniques are increasingly being used to bypass verification systems and execute larger scams. Cryptocurrency-related offences have also emerged as a major risk, with virtual digital assets enabling transactions that are harder to trace, particularly when they move across jurisdictions.
The report also pointed to the use of encrypted platforms and anonymous communication channels by organised cybercrime groups. This has made investigations more time-consuming and allowed fraud networks to operate with wider reach and greater flexibility.
Experts Call For Prevention-Focused Framework
Cybersecurity experts have warned that existing legal and regulatory systems are struggling to keep pace with rapidly evolving threats. They have called for stronger data analytics, better inter-agency coordination and real-time monitoring systems to detect fraud earlier and reduce financial damage.
Former IPS officer and cybercrime expert Prof. Triveni Singh said cybercrime has moved beyond a technical issue and has become a form of organised economic warfare. He stressed the need for awareness, faster reporting mechanisms and stronger digital forensic capabilities as AI-driven frauds and deepfake scams increasingly target ordinary citizens.
The report also referred to global models from the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore, suggesting that India needs a more robust cyber response infrastructure. Financial institutions and companies have been advised to upgrade cybersecurity and compliance systems, with experts warning that reactive measures are no longer sufficient in the current threat environment.
