Rs 10000000000: Indians losing huge amount of money every month due to...

With the advancement of technology, incidents of cyber fraud have also increased in recent years. From shopping, booking tickets, and ordering food, all things are just one click away. However, in the age of the digital world, online fraud is a big challenge. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Indians are losing Rs 1,000 crore every month due to cyber fraud. The ministry has estimated that a large part of cyber scams targeting Indians come from Southeast Asia, an Indian Express (IE) report said.

Scams from high-security locations

Data from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), a unit under MHA, revealed that these scams are often run from high-security locations, reportedly controlled by Chinese operators, where trafficked people, including Indians, are forced to work. Between January and May 2025, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) reported that over Rs 7,000 crore was lost to such scams. These networks operate out of Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.

What analysis of cyber frauds revealed

Cyber frauds are targeting the Indian economy, and the country faces a loss of around Rs 1,000 crore every month to such crimes. "In January, Rs 1,192 crore was lost to Southeast Asia-based countries, Rs 951 crore in February, Rs 1,000 crore in March, Rs 731 crore in April and Rs 999 crore in May,” an official said, IE reported.

Action plan to combat online scams

Senior government officials met their Cambodian counterparts recently in Delhi to discuss an action plan to combat online scams targeting Indians, an official told IE. During the meeting, Cambodian officials requested the exact geographical coordinates of these scam centres to take further action.

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The official said, “With the help of intelligence agencies and testimonies of rescued people, the Indian government has identified at least 45 such scam compounds in Cambodia, five in Laos, and one in Myanmar. It also came to the fore that, apart from Indians, people from African countries, East Asia countries, Southeast Asia countries, South Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, Europe/North America and South America were also identified in these scam compounds."