Banking fraud amount jumps 30% YoY in FY26 till September, shows RBI report

Reserve Bank of India

The amount involved in banking fraud cases rose 30 percent year-on-year in FY26 till September, according to the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data.

The data showed that, the amount involved in fraud stood at Rs 21,515 crore between April and September FY26, as compared to Rs 16,569 crore in the similar period last year. The sharp uptick is due to increase in fraud amount in advances to Rs 17,501 crore in FY26 till September, as compared to Rs 15,521 crore in the year-ago period.

However, number of frauds in FY26 till September fell to 5,092, as compared to 18,386 in the year-ago period.

During 2024-25, based on date of reporting by banks, the total number of frauds decreased. However, the amount involved in frauds increased. This was mainly due to re-examination and reporting afresh of 122 fraud cases amounting to Rs 18,336 crore after ensuring compliance with the judgement of the Supreme Court of India dated March 27, 2023, RBI's report said.

Based on the date of occurrence of frauds, during 2024-25, the share of card / internet frauds in total stood at 66.8 percent in terms of number of cases. In terms of amount, the share of advances-related frauds was 33.1 percent, report said.

In 2024-25, private banks accounted for 59.3 percent of the total number of frauds reported, while PSBs accounted for 70.7 percent of the amount involved. Within private banks, card/internet-related frauds accounted for the largest share by number, while frauds related to advances constituted the largest share by value in 2024-25.

In contrast, PSBs reported the highest share of frauds related to advances, both in terms of number of cases and the amount involved. The share of card/internet frauds declined across all bank groups in both number and amount involved during 2024–25, report added.