- People in Karnataka have lost a staggering Rs 5,474 (over $650M USD approximately) crore to cyber criminals over the past three years.
- The number of losses aren’t just going up—they’re shooting up: from Rs 873 crore (over $105M USD approximately) lost in 2023, all the way to Rs 2,038 crore (over $240M approximately) already gone in 2025.
- Online scammers are getting sharper, and the police are having a tough time keeping up; case detection rate dropped from more than 6,000 solved cases in 2023 to barely 1,000 this year.
Reports revealed that Karnataka in India recorded over five thousand crore rupees in losses to online fraud in the last three years.
This isn’t just a blip – the state assembly revealed it this week. Cyber fraud isn’t just growing, it’s exploding, getting more complex and harder to fight every year.
Crime Skyrockets While Detection Rates Decline
Cybercrime in Karnataka is getting a bit out of hand — 22,255 cases in 2023, which creeped up to 22,478 the following year. That’s not exactly a tiny blip either. It’s like every time you blink, another scammer’s popping up. And this year? There are already 13,000 cases.
The money lost is just unreal. Scam artists raked in almost three times as much cash, going from about Rs 873 crore last year to a foolish Rs 2,562 crore this year.
The cops are running around trying to catch up, and they’ve gotten back Rs 2,038 crore just this year. It just goes to show how much money these crooks are swiping. However, the police are not finding it easy to solve these cases, their capacity keeps dwindling.
In the year before last, they solved 6,159 cases; however, that reduced to only 3,549 in 2024. And this year, they’ve only managed to solve a mere 1,009 cases so far, which is not in any way encouraging.
Why Do the Criminals Seem One Step Ahead?
India’s Home Minister G Parameshwara pointed out a few reasons why this problem just keeps getting worse. According to him, more people are now using the internet, and that is why we see more victims being recorded. He also blamed this issue on the fact that many are not knowledgeable enough when it comes to using the cyber space, making them more prone to scams.
The criminals themselves are using advanced tools – they try to hide their tracks using VPNs and encrypted messaging apps. And since they mostly operate on the dark web, it’s way harder for investigators to track them. For a deeper look at how these hidden networks operate, read our explainer on understanding dark web dangers and risks.
The report also mentions that things like unemployment help cyber crime grow. It noted the “uncontrolled expansion” of digital payments, which gives fraudsters new ways to strike.
Finally, the government admitted its own structural problems. Police often lack the capacity to handle complex cyber investigations. Long delays in the courts also mean criminals rarely face swift justice.
A Related Breach: When Safety Systems Become a Threat
Karnataka’s financial nightmare is part of a broader problem people are facing in India. Violation of privacy by cybercriminals is another threat that is fast becoming alarming. One particular case recorded in Gujarat state in November shows how bad actors can weaponize even devices meant to ensure safety.
Reports noted that Gujarat police, earlier this year, got a tip off that hackers breached at least 50,000 CCTV cameras. Hospitals, schools, even private homes were affected. In one horrific instance, videos from a maternity ward were stolen.
These clips showed women undergoing intimate medical exams. The hackers then sold this sensitive footage on Telegram for just 800 to 2,000 rupees. This monetization of intimate violations mirrors other dark web crimes (where everything from stolen data to illegal services is traded), such as in a recent case where hackers were jailed for stealing kids’ photos and posting them on the dark web. The dark web functions as a vast, hidden marketplace. For a curated look at the types of sites—both legitimate privacy tools and illicit markets—that exist in this space, see our guide to the best dark web sites.
A cyber expert from India, Ritesh Bhatia, explained the simple flaw. Many systems use factory-default passwords like “Admin123.” Hackers use software to guess these weak codes easily.
“Once they get into the system, they can see or record live footage,” Bhatia said. Bhatia urged people to change the default passwords of their security camera immediately after purchasing it to something stronger and unique.
People lose a lot of money to cybercrimes, but the implications go way beyond just the financial losses. It’s a violation of our most private spaces, from bank accounts to bedrooms.
