Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: A total amount of around Rs 1,717 crore was lost to digital payment fraud and online cheating in Delhi between 2023 and 2025, of which only 10% could be recovered, the home ministry told Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Citing details provided by the Delhi Police, junior home minister Nityanand Rai, in reply to a question, said that 1,475, 1,707 and 3,800 cases of digital payment fraud and online cheating were reported in the national Capital in 2023, 2024 and 2025 respectively. “Total amount defrauded from the victims in these cases was Rs 1,716.6 crore. An amount of Rs 174.8 crore has been recovered so far,” he said, while adding that prompt reporting of the fraud has been a key factor behind recovery of the defrauded money. Rai said 15 cyber police stations and 2 cyber cells are functioning in Delhi, with a total working strength of 40 inspectors, 115 sub-inspectors, 64 assistant sub-inspectors, 371 head constables and 323 constables.Listing the measures taken by Delhi Police against digital payment swindling, which hits the middle class and economically weaker sections worst, the minister said the Delhi Police has expanded the ‘1930’ helpline and set up a specialised Delhi cyber financial fraud mitigation centre (DCFMC) in Connaught Place place station where nodal officers from 14 banks work alongside police to instantly freeze (lien mark) defrauded funds.Also, a dedicated team is stationed at the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which comes under MHA, to coordinate with over 40 banks for real-time information sharing.Victims can file FIRs online; the threshold for registration was recently lowered from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 lakh to speed up legal action.To spread cyber awareness, students from Class 9 to 11 are being trained in cyber hygiene under the cyber warrior diversity program; and digital content shared on various social media platforms to tackle cyber bullying, stalking and digital arrest scams. Also, specialised media campaigns are being run targeting job scams and investment fraud. Citizens are made aware on cyber fraud through ‘jaagrookta diwas’, observed on the first Wednesday of every month across schools, malls, and residential areas.
