Cashless economy: India to see 65% rise in mobile frauds in 2017

Post demonetisation there has been a surge in digital transactions via e-wallets and other online payment gateways

With the surge in digital transactions via e-wallets and other online payment gateways, mobile frauds are expected to grow to 60-65 per cent in the country by 2017, a leading industry body said on Monday.

The joint study by Assocham and research firm EY, titled "Strategic National Measures to Combat Cybercrime", said a secure cyberspace and the government's initiatives in keeping tabs on cybercrime have become an important criteria for businesses to establish, operate and flourish in any region.

"Mobile frauds are areas of great concern for companies as 40-45 per cent of financial transactions are done via mobile devices and this threat is expected grow to 60-65 per cent," the study noted.

Credit and debit card fraud cases top the chart of cybercrimes and there has been a six-fold increase in such cases over the past three years.

"According to the data, about 46 per cent complaints of online banking related to/credit/debit card fraud followed by Facebook-related complaints (39 per cent -- mostly morphed pictures/cyber stalking/cyber bullying)," the study said.

Other major cyber complaints were cheating through mobile (21 per cent), hacking of e-mail ID (18 per cent), abusive/offensive/obscene calls and SMS (12 per cent) and others.

Enforcing data security measures and creating proactive security monitoring capabilities are vital for an organisation to maintain a lead over emerging threats and protect their financial, intellectual and customer-related information, the study said.