Cyber Frauds & Mule Accounts: RBI Warns of Rising Risk

Mumbai, Dec 30 (PTI) A Reserve Bank report on Monday stressed increasing awareness about cyber frauds and efforts to identify mule accounts amid rising digital transactions.

With the rise in digital transactions, the incidents of cyber frauds using novel modus operandi have increased in recent times, the December edition of the Financial Stability Report (FSR) released by the RBI said.

"Considering the fact that the financial losses and emotional distress caused by these frauds are substantial, it is imperative that Regulated Entities (REs) undertake wide-scale preventive awareness initiatives to caution the public about such frauds and intensify efforts to identify mule accounts," it said.

According to the RBI's Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2023-24, the number of bank frauds witnessed a significant year-on-year increase in the first half of the current fiscal to 18,461 cases and the amount involved jumped more than eight-fold to Rs 21,367 crore.

The number of frauds during April-September stood at 18,461, involving Rs 21,367 crore compared to 14,480 cases worth Rs 2,623 crore a year ago.

According to the FSR, regulatory initiatives continue to focus on reinforcing the safety and resilience of the financial system.

Efforts have been focused on strengthening the resilience of financial intermediaries and market infrastructure, with emphasis on cyber resilience, fraud prevention and customer protection, it said.

Regulators have remained vigilant and responsive, adapting to the changing financial environment to further strengthen the robustness of the financial system, it said.