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People of all generations have been driven to use online modes of transactions, however, with the increased usage of apps for transactions and other financial activities, the number of online banking frauds is expected to increase by 2020.

While online financial transactions have become an important aspect of the digital India drive, the number of online banking fraud instances reported has nearly doubled between 2019 and 2020. According to data from the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) during this span of time, the overall number of incidents of online fraud in India was 2,093 in 2019, but it jumped to over 4,000 in 2020 after the COVID epidemic.

Despite the fact that many people are benefiting from the digital drive, financial fraud is preventing some people from going online. Mouli Manna, a 26-year-old Noida resident, prefers cashless transactions, especially after COVID. She has, however, avoided using any applications or websites for transactions after falling victim to online financial fraud. "I've even removed Google Payout of fear," says Manna, who only conducts cash purchases and prefers to do all financial transactions via offline methods these days.

Between 2019 and 2020, we looked at which cities and states were the hardest afflicted by online banking fraud.

In metropolitan cities, there are more than 50% of frauds.

In India, metropolitan cities are responsible for more than half of all banking frauds. Following the COVID epidemic, Hyderabad and Mumbai had the largest number of fraudulent operations among metros. Between 2019 and 2020, the number of banking fraud cases in Hyderabad increased from zero to over 1300.

In 2020, Hyderabad accounted for more than 75 of every 100 online banking frauds detected in major cities. Among other metropolitan cities, Mumbai has historically had the largest number of online banking fraud instances, but no case was reported in Hyderabad till 2019. Experts feel that the city's thriving IT start-up culture is one of the causes leading to this.

Between 2017 and 2020, the number of cases of online banking fraud in major cities increased by more than tenfold. Although the incidence of online banking frauds more than increased between 2018 and 2019, when COVID first launched in 2019, the number exploded in 2020.

Ahmedabad, Delhi, and Pune, in addition to Mumbai and Hyderabad, were the cities with the highest number of online banking fraud in 2020.

More than 85% of cases were reported in five states.

Despite the fact that the majority of states reported an increase in online banking fraud in 2020, only five states recorded more than 85% of all occurrences. Telangana and Maharashtra became the top states with the most cases, with Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Pune having the highest number of cases among metropolitan cities. Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh are among the other states.

Between 2017 and 2020, Telangana saw the largest increase in the number of instances, with the number of cases raising by more than 12 times.