In a worrying trend, Indians have lost an estimated ₹7,000 crore to online scams in the first five months of 2025. The data was revealed by the Ministry of Home Affairs and points to a growing threat of cybercrime, especially from Southeast Asia.
According to an analysis by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), more than half of these cyber frauds originated from countries like Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. These scams are reportedly operated from heavily guarded compounds believed to be controlled by Chinese groups. People, including trafficked Indians, are allegedly forced to work in these scam centers.
The average loss due to online scams comes to nearly ₹1,000 crore per month. Officials stated that ₹1,192 crore was lost in January, ₹951 crore in February, ₹1,000 crore in March, ₹731 crore in April and ₹999 crore in May.
The data has been collected from the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS), which is used by I4C to help citizens report financial cyber frauds.
Three major types of fraud have been found to be operating from these regions — stock trading and investment scams, digital arrest frauds and task-based or investment-based scams.
An official stated, “With the help of intelligence agencies, the government has identified at least 45 such scam compounds in Cambodia, five in Laos, and one in Myanmar.”
Law enforcement agencies have also tracked several agents involved in recruiting Indians for these operations. The highest number of agents were found in Maharashtra with 59 cases, followed by Tamil Nadu with 51, Jammu and Kashmir with 46, Uttar Pradesh with 41, and Delhi with 38.
Based on the current pattern, I4C has warned that Indians could lose over ₹1.2 trillion to cyber frauds by the end of the year if stronger security measures are not taken.
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