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Indians find shield against fraud: Second bank account for daily use

UPI ease spurs second payments bank accounts for daily use; AI tools like MuleHunter.ai flag 20,000 mule accounts monthly

Fraud
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Digital fraud losses in the country have dramatically increased, prompting people to adopt protective two-account strategies, while regulators use AI to combat mushrooming mule accounts.

Pranjal Sharma

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As digital banking expands in India, so too does fraud. An amount of ₹3,207 crore was lost in 582,000 cases of cyber fraud from FY20 to FY24, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The year-on-year increase in both incidents and losses is significant: 
Cases nearly quadrupled from 75,800 in FY23 to 292,800 in FY24. Total loss more than tripled from ₹421.4 crore in FY23 to ₹2,054.6 crore in FY24. These numbers highlight the escalating risk in digital banking.  
Business leaders and policymakers are educating consumers about financial fraud in
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