Nearly Half of Urban Population Victims of Financial Crimes, Survey Finds
A large scale survey conducted across urban areas of the country has revealed alarming rates of financial fraud affecting ordinary citizens. The study conducted by citizen engagement platform LocalCircles found that as many as 47% of urban dwellers had either themselves or a family member fall prey to financial crimes in the last three years alone.
Credit card fraud emerged as the most common type of financial offense according to the survey. A staggering 43% of respondents who had faced fraud reported unauthorized charges on their credit cards. In many cases, these charges were incurred by unknown international or domestic merchants without the cardholder's consent. Lack of mandatory OTP verification for overseas transactions leaves cards highly vulnerable to misuse.
Contactless payments through UPI also witnessed significant financial crimes according to 30% of participants. Worryingly, 4 in 10 such victims had money deducted from their accounts after receiving links purportedly to accept payments but instead designed to steal funds.
Beyond credit and debit card as well as UPI frauds, 19% of households surveyed complained of unauthorized access to their bank accounts. Additional types of financial offenses affected smaller percentages.
The findings point to urgent need for strengthened security across digital payment methods. Consumer awareness must also be enhanced regarding fraud prevention best practices. Local police need capacity building to effectively guide victims through online complaint filing process. If unaddressed, the growing costs of financial crimes will weigh heavily on individuals and society at large. It is incumbent on regulators, banks and law enforcement to work collaboratively to curb such offenses through prevention and swift punitive action.
