New Delhi, December 17, 2025 :
India’s booming digital payments ecosystem faces ongoing challenges from fraudsters, with the government disclosing shocking UPI fraud statistics in Parliament. Unified Payments Interface (UPI) scams have resulted in losses of ₹805 crore so far in the current financial year (FY26) up to November, involving over 10.64 lakh reported incidents.
According to data tabled by Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in the Lok Sabha, UPI fraud peaked in FY24 (ending March 2024) with 13.42 lakh cases and losses totaling ₹1,087 crore – the highest on record since UPI’s mainstream adoption. The following year (FY25) saw a slight decline to 12.64 lakh incidents and ₹981 crore in losses.
Relief comes in the form of a continuing downward trend: FY26 figures show fewer cases and reduced amounts compared to previous years, signaling that stricter measures by authorities are starting to take effect.
However, a major concern remains the abysmally low recovery rate. Government data indicates that during April-September 2025, while 92% of complaints were addressed within 30 days, victims recovered only 6% of the lost funds. This highlights how difficult it is to retrieve money once scammers strike, emphasizing that prevention is the best defense against UPI fraud in 2025.
In response, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) have tightened security protocols. Key measures include:
- Device binding and new login rules
- Transaction limits and cooldown periods
- AI and machine learning for real-time suspicious activity detection
- Proposed digital intelligence platform for data sharing among banks and fintechs
Experts urge users to stay vigilant: never share UPI PINs or OTPs, verify beneficiary names, avoid unknown links, and report fraud immediately via the national cybercrime helpline 1930.
While the decline in UPI fraud cases offers hope, the low recovery rate underscores the need for greater awareness and robust safeguards in India’s digital payment revolution.
