UPI-Related Frauds Dominate Digital Payments Landscape In India, Report Finds

A new report reveals that more than 55% of digital payment frauds in India are related to United Payments Interface (UPI) transactions.

What Happened? Digital solutions platform Bureau and consultancy firm Praxis issued the report “The Anatomy of Fraud 2023,” noting that cards involve 18% of these frauds, internet banking links to 12%, and phishing calls account for 9%.

The data, first reported by Business Standard reveals that most UPI-related frauds involve small amounts. Around 50% of these transactions are for less than ₹10,000, while 48% of these fall between ₹10,000 and ₹1,00,000. Only 2% exceed ₹1,00,000.

These findings are significant considering the widespread adoption of UPI in recent years. In the fiscal year 2022, UPI accounted for 57% of all non-cash retail transactions in India.

See also: India Is Seeing An Alarming Uptick In Cyberattacks This Year

The report also predicts a substantial increase in internet usage in India, jumping from 879 million users in 2022 to 1.14 billion by 2027. Consequently, the number of digital payments is expected to grow by 74% over the same period.

Fraud Control: The study points out that identity-related frauds prevail across industries, with account-related frauds making up 65% of all frauds in financial services in 2021.

However, the report acknowledges proactive measures by the Centre, such as stringent KYC norms, to prevent fraud. It also reveals that 60% of surveyed organisations plan to increase spending on fraud detection and prevention in the next two years.

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