The irony of Gujarat can’t be missed. The state synonymous with growth and known to attract investments is also a major target for investment-related cybercrimes.
The state became the third in India to cross one crore registered investors in May 2025. It now joins Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh in that list.
The large investor base has drawn fraudsters. Gujarat reported losses of Rs 564.77 crore. This was across 13,122 fraud cases. These were registered through the national cybercrime helpline in the first 11 months of the year.
Data show the state recorded online frauds across 37 categories. Investment scams were the biggest driver of financial losses. Cybercrime complaint data show investment fraud losses made up about 42% of the total Rs 1,334.06 crore lost. The total loss came from 1.61 lakh complaints during the period.
A cybercrime official told a media outlet the target audience in Gujarat was very large. Fewer people may fall prey, but they invested several lakhs before realising they were conned. The official added victims included businessmen, executives, doctors and other educated individuals.
Cybercrime officials also revealed that a woman from northern India was recently questioned by the department. Her account held around Rs 2 lakh. This money had been transferred from a person in Gandhinagar. The official said she traded on a popular online platform.
She was added to a group with a name matching the platform. He said she invested Rs 4 lakh. Her daughter in the UK later warned her it was a scam. When she tried to withdraw the money, she was allowed to take out only Rs 2 lakh.
A per-case analysis of the 1.61 lakh complaints shows an average loss of Rs 82,884 per complaint. The average loss varied sharply by fraud type. Some categories were designed for scale. Others were aimed at high-value extraction.
The highest per-case loss was seen in digital arrest scams. Victims lost an average of Rs 15.46 lakh per case. These frauds involved callers posing as law enforcement or investigative agencies. They used intimidation and threats of arrest to force immediate transfers.
Investment scams ranked second in per-case losses. The average loss was Rs 4.34 lakh per case. Visa fraud ranked third. It averaged Rs 3.34 lakh across 318 cases. Investigators said these scams involved fake overseas job offers, forged documents and processing fees that rose over time. They exploited Gujaratis seeking to settle abroad.
Insurance fraud and task fraud also showed significant losses. Average losses were Rs 1.83 lakh and Rs 1.58 lakh per case. Task frauds lured victims with small payouts for online tasks. Victims were then pushed into larger recharge or unlock payments that were never recovered.
Courier fraud recorded the lowest losses. Only 14 cases were reported. Victims were sent links to confirm an address or receive a parcel. This led to small-value thefts compared to other categories.
RTO challan fraud recorded 794 cases. Losses stood at Rs 5.69 crore. Officials said the scam was spreading fast. They linked it to increased digitisation. They also cited compulsory mobile numbers for driving licence and vehicle registration services, which could widen the pool of targets.
Also Read:
