Frauds in banking sector rises in FY24: RBI Annual report

The number of frauds in banks rose 166 percent year-on-year in the financial year 2023-24 to 36,075, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s annual report released on May 30. The numbers were sharply higher than 13,564 reported in FY23.

According to the Reserve Bank of India's annual report, digital payments and card/internet transactions accounted for 80.6% of frauds in fiscal 2024.

The total number of these frauds rose more than four times year-on-year to 29,082. However, the amount involved was relatively small, totaling 1,457 crore rupees.

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Private sector banks reported the highest number of frauds, with 24,210 cases, making up 67.1% of total frauds in the 2023-2024 financial year. Small value card and internet frauds were the most significant contributors to the number of reported frauds.

"Frauds have occurred predominantly in the category of digital payments (card/internet), in terms of number. In terms of value, frauds have been reported primarily in the loan portfolio (advances category)," the report said.

While small value card/internet frauds contributed maximum to the number of frauds reported by the private sector banks, the frauds in public sector banks were mainly in loan portfolio.

Further, an analysis of the vintage of frauds reported during 2022-23 and 2023-24 shows a significant time-lag between the date of occurrence of a fraud and its detection.