Mumbai Cybercrime Surge: 3,689 Online Fraud Cases Reported In 7 Months, Only 847 Detected

Mumbai has reported a staggering 3,689 online fraud cases in the first seven months of this year, a 75% increase from the 4,825 cases recorded in 2025. The city's detection rate remains alarmingly low, with only 847 cases detected and 637 accused arrested so far. Among the cases reported, digital and credit card fraud topped the charts, with 914 cases, followed by share market investment fraud (275 cases) and hacking cases (187).

The police have also recorded 1,187 cases under the 'other cheating' category, including 145 investment and crypto fraud cases. In addition to these, 136 crimes involving fake social media profiles, email or SMS morphing, and 103 cases of phishing, man-in-the-middle attacks, and spoofing emails were reported. Job seekers were also targeted, with 70 fraud cases registered against them.

Neehar Pathare, CEO and CIO of 63SATS Cybertech Ltd, warned of the "industrialisation of digital fraud," highlighting the use of psychological coercion and sophisticated mule networks by syndicates to siphon off large sums of money within minutes. Mumbai Police's Cybercrime Crackdown has returned ₹3.97 crore to 6,096 victims in just two months, but this figure represents only 75% of the total cases reported last year.

Pathare also pointed out that many victims do not report fraud due to embarrassment or a lack of awareness.

Mario Fishery, director at IT services firm 'ASB', noted that the reported figures likely represent only a fraction of the actual cybercrime, as many victims are deterred from reporting due to embarrassment or a lack of knowledge. With AI making scams more convincing, criminals can now create fake messages, websites, voices, and images, further complicating efforts to detect and prevent cybercrime.