Nepal has recorded a sharp volume of cybercrime complaints over the past fiscal year, with social media misuse and online financial scams emerging as major concerns. From mid-July 2025 (Nepali Fiscal Year 2082/83) to mid-July 2026 (2083/84), police received 20,526 cybercrime-related complaints.
During the period, 161 cybercrime cases were filed and 155 people were arrested. Of the total complaints, 7,123 involved Facebook/Messenger misuse, followed by 6,776 related to TikTok, 3,105 to WhatsApp, 1,031 to Telegram and 628 to Instagram. Other complaints included 114 involving email, 21 Viber, 38 Imo, 64 YouTube, 14 WeChat, 11 Twitter, 11 Google, 744 involving eSewa, Khalti, bank accounts or SMS, and 846 related to organisations.
The number of complaints has also increased from earlier years. Nepal recorded 18,926 complaints in Fiscal Year 2081/82, compared with 19,730 complaints in Fiscal Year 2080/81.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Dilip Kumar Giri, spokesperson at the Cyber Bureau, said increasing social media use has also led to greater misuse. Recent complaints include scams involving false claims to access bank accounts through banks and wallet offices, fake gifts, lotteries and parcels, romance-based deception, overseas employment promises, online job offers through Telegram, WhatsApp and Instagram, and fraudulent online shopping schemes.
The misuse of technology is creating new forms of crime and making investigations more difficult. To address technology-based crimes, the Government of Nepal established the Cyber Bureau on 10 June 2018.
The Bureau has since expanded its technological capabilities, strengthened police capacity in cybercrime and security, and conducted programmes to improve public awareness of cybersecurity. Nepal Police continues to work on preventing and investigating technology-related crimes.
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