Gujarat, which recently joined the elite club of Indian states with more than one crore registered investors, is now facing a severe onslaught of cybercrime targeting its vast financial base. In the first eleven months of the year, the state witnessed staggering losses of Rs 564.77 crore from over 13,122 fraud cases reported via the national cybercrime helpline.
A Lucrative Target for Fraudsters
Having crossed the 1-crore investor mark in May 2025, Gujarat now stands alongside Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. This massive pool of investors has, unfortunately, made the state a prime hunting ground for online criminals. Data reveals that fraud occurred across 37 different categories, but investment-related scams were the most damaging in terms of financial impact.
Out of a total loss of Rs 1,334.06 crore from 1.61 lakh complaints, investment fraud alone accounted for a shocking 42% of the total losses. A senior cybercrime official explained the trend, stating that while the percentage of victims might be small, the amounts involved are huge. "The target audience in Gujarat is very large. The number of those who fall prey to such frauds may be fewer, but they invest several lakhs before realizing they have been conned," the official said.
The profile of victims is not limited to the inexperienced; it includes educated professionals like businessmen, executives, and doctors. The official cited a recent case where a woman from North India was questioned. She had received Rs 2 lakh in her account from a person in Gandhinagar. She was lured into a group named after a popular trading platform, invested Rs 4 lakh, and was only able to withdraw Rs 2 lakh after her daughter warned her of the scam.
High-Value Scams: Digital Arrest and Investment Frauds Lead
An analysis of the complaints shows that the average loss per case in Gujarat was Rs 82,884. However, this figure masks the extreme losses in specific, sophisticated fraud categories.
The most devastating scam in terms of per-case loss was 'digital arrest' fraud, where victims lost an average of Rs 15.46 lakh each. In these scams, criminals impersonate law enforcement officials, using threats of imminent arrest to panic victims into transferring large sums of money immediately.
Close behind were investment scams, ranking second with an average loss of Rs 4.34 lakh per case. Following these were visa frauds, which exploited aspirations of moving abroad, with an average loss of Rs 3.34 lakh across 318 cases. Investigators noted that such scams involve fake job offers, forged documents, and escalating 'processing fees'.
Other significant per-case losses were recorded in insurance fraud (Rs 1.83 lakh average) and task fraud (Rs 1.58 lakh average). Task frauds typically hook victims with small payouts for simple online work before trapping them in larger, non-recoverable payments.
The Expanding Threat Landscape
At the lower end of the financial spectrum, courier frauds saw only 14 cases with relatively small losses. However, officials highlighted another rapidly spreading scam: RTO challan fraud. This scam has seen 794 cases leading to losses of Rs 5.69 crore.
Authorities link the rise of this particular fraud to increased digitization and the mandatory linking of mobile numbers with driving licenses and vehicle registrations. This policy, while convenient, has inadvertently expanded the pool of potential targets for fraudsters who send fake traffic penalty links.
The data paints a clear picture of a dual strategy used by cybercriminals in Gujarat: launching wide-scale, lower-value attacks and simultaneously executing targeted, high-value scams designed to extract lakhs from individual victims. The state's economic prosperity and large investor community make it a critical battleground in India's fight against cybercrime.
