Bengaluru: Cybercrime is tightening its grip across Karnataka, with Bengaluru emerging as the biggest hunting ground for fraudsters misusing innocent citizens’ bank accounts and siphoning off crores through fake accounts and clever schemes.
A comprehensive study by the Cyber Crime Investigation Training and Research Center of the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has exposed the alarming misuse of fake bank accounts for illegal money transfers in cybercrime incidents across the state. The report has now been submitted to the government, highlighting the scale at which citizens are being cheated digitally.
Over Rs 2,900 crore lost in just one year
According to data from the National Cyber Reporting Portal (NCRB), complaints registered across 19 police stations in Bengaluru city, including CEN Police Station, show that cyber thieves drained a whopping Rs 2,915 crore from unsuspecting people last year alone. Shockingly, 42.9 per cent of the total cyber crime cases reported in the state were from Bengaluru city itself — pointing to how the IT capital has ironically become a paradise for digital crooks.
Of the total, Rs 1,859.9 crore was siphoned off through fake accounts in private banks, while ₹948 crore was looted from fake accounts operated through government banks. Small finance banks lost ₹17.87 crore, foreign banks saw frauds worth Rs 78.14 crore, while regional rural and cooperative banks too were targeted, with frauds amounting to several crores.
Investment frauds top the chart
The study has found that cyber fraudsters mainly trap people with promises of quick profits. Investment frauds alone accounted for a massive 70.51 per cent of the total amount defrauded — approximately Rs 468 crore. Next on the list are employment scams, with fraudsters tricking job-seekers and extracting Rs 80 crore (12 per cent of total frauds).
In recent months, ‘digital arrest’ scams — where victims are threatened over fake police or tax calls — have also surged, causing losses worth Rs 58 crore (8.79 per cent). Credit card frauds have led to losses of Rs 12.77 crore, while OTP frauds and other smaller online traps continue to empty people’s bank accounts in minutes.
How cyber gangs operate
Cyber crooks use multiple methods — fake websites, cloned apps, social media traps and phishing calls — to dupe people into sharing sensitive details or investing in fraudulent schemes. They open thousands of fake accounts across private and public sector banks, circulate the money quickly through digital channels, and vanish without a trace.
Experts say fraudsters increasingly target Bengaluru’s tech-savvy working population and students who rely heavily on online transactions but are often careless with digital security.
Officials admit that while Bengaluru’s IT boom has connected millions online, it has also opened the floodgates for sophisticated criminals who exploit every digital loophole possible.With fraudsters getting smarter each day, the burden is now on both the government and citizens to fight back with equal vigilance.
Experts say fraudsters increasingly target Bengaluru’s tech-savvy working population and students who rely heavily on online transactions but are often careless with digital security.
CID’s recommendations
With the numbers crossing alarming limits, the CID has asked the government to tighten monitoring of suspicious bank accounts, enhance bank verification norms, and launch an aggressive awareness campaign so that people do not fall prey to investment and job scams.
Cybercrime officers have also suggested strengthening collaboration between banks and the police to freeze suspicious accounts swiftly and recover stolen money before it is routed overseas.
