Investment fraud tops cybercrime cases in 2025 in Karnataka

Of late, the discourse over cybercrime has been dominated by “digital arrest” cases, from the Prime Minister of the country to the Supreme Court of India, speaking about it. But even in 2025, the largest number of cybercrime cases registered in Karnataka were over “investment frauds”. 

While the State reported 346 digital arrests in 2025, it reported a total of 6156 investment frauds. Of them, 3487 cases were where fraudsters made victims invest in stocks and shares through fake apps, and in 2669 cases, victims were lured through social media and instant messaging apps offering part-time jobs, tasks to be done online, and reviews of products for money, as data presented by the Home Minister in the recently concluded Karnataka Legislature Session showed. Online money transfers, OTP frauds, and credit card frauds made up a bulk of other cases booked in the State.

Below the radar

A senior police official said that as the security establishment and other stakeholders try to educate the public of the ever-changing modus operandi deployed by cyber fraudsters, the old ones start going below the radar. That doesn’t mean that people have become aware of these modus operandi and cases stop. 

For instance, harassment by loan apps was once all over. Based on several FIRs registered by the Central Crime Branch, Bengaluru City Police, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) raided multiple firms linked to China running these loan apps based out of Bengaluru and several other metro cities of the country in 2023. After this , several of these loan apps were taken down from app stores as well. However, data shows the state has recorded 210 cases of harassment by loan apps in 2025. 

Investment frauds 

What the police term investment fraud is one of the oldest forms of cyberfraud.

There are thousands of social media posts, personalised messages sent through instant messaging apps offering part-time jobs, giving tasks to be performed online, like liking YouTube and Facebook posts, reviewing products online, for a hefty pay. Once a person is tempted by the money and clicks on the link, trust is built by initially paying out small sums of money for menial tasks. Then the fraudster tries to lure the victim with the promise of more returns if they invest with them. Soon, it is a downward spiral. What starts as a job fraud morphs into an investment fraud. A senior official said, for this reason, it was often tough to categorise cybercrimes as per modus operandi.

In another modus operandi, victims are lured into groups on instant messaging apps where free stock recommendations are provided. Then they are asked to invest in stocks through their own app. The app continues to show hefty profit, and the problem kicks in when the victim tries to withdraw the money. The app doesn’t let you withdraw the money, and fraudsters seek more money as withdrawal fee.

A senior official said that cyber fraudsters capitalise on the people’s lure for easy money. “There is no free lunch. There is no way anyone can give higher returns than is regularly possible in the market. That is the first red flag. People should desist from interacting with unknown entities online,” he said.