Cyber Scams Rise in MP—The Poor Pay the Price

Every morning at 9, Sanju Jatav sets out with his handcart in the narrow lanes of Biaora city in Madhya Pradesh’s Rajgarh district. Despite his disability in one hand and leg, he pushes his cart to sell bangles, sindoor, and other makeup items. His earnings of Rs 300–500 a day support his mother and two brothers. Sanju studied until class 8, but after failing in class 9, he left school and began working to support his family. For the past 7–8 years, he has been selling goods from a handcart.

In the afternoon, around 2 pm, on May 26, 2025, Jatav received a phone call. “Hello, I am talking from Airtel Payment Bank.” Jatav narrates the incident, “The person told me that my bank's ATM (debit card) has arrived. He asked me to share an OTP (One-Time Password). And, as soon as I shared the OTP, Rs 600 was deducted from my bank.”

This seemed unusual to Jatav, but he assumed the bank had deducted it as a service charge. 

The very next day, he received a video call. The caller asked him to complete a process to reverse yesterday’s deduction. This time, Rs 690 were deducted from his bank account. It was only then that he realised—he was being scammed. He thought someone else was using his phone. He abused the caller on the other end in anger and disconnected the phone in disbelief.

Sanju lost Rs 1290 within two days. This isn’t a small sum of money. Even his support income from the Social Justice Department is deposited in this account.

On May 27th, he told his mother about the incidents. Her face turned pale. The entire incident has made Sanju anxious and paranoid. He said, “I did not pick up any call from any unknown number for almost a week.” He is constantly afraid that he might become a victim of another fraud. Jatav formatted his phone and has stopped accepting digital payments through PhonePe. “Now I do all transactions in cash,” he said.

He refused to register a complaint at the nearest police station. He said that the police would scold me for being so stupid. When Ground Report met him, he had not registered a complaint. We told him that he can complain through the toll-free number 1930. Later, Jatav called this number and explained the entire incident. Hence, the complaint was registered.

The next steps might take time. Meanwhile, Sanju remains disillusioned and hopeless. With disappointment, he said, “We have complained, but nothing has happened. The deducted money will not be returned.”

In just the first four months of 2025, Madhya Pradesh has reported cyber frauds totaling ₹251 crore, more than the figures from the same period in both 2024 and 2023.

Increasing Online Fraud the State

Rajgarh district is considered a backward district in terms of its development indicators, with a significant Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) population. The increasing trend reflects a worrying sign. The per capita income in 2020-21 was ₹93,565, less than the nation’s average, with earnings of over ₹7000 a month.

Generally, cyber crime refers to all such crimes where the criminals use computer, mobile or any other communication device to illegally transact money with the victim. However, there are many types of cyber crime.

When the criminals try to obtain the victim's personal information such as bank account number or PIN or any such information, it is called vishing in technical terms. Many times, criminals carry out such frauds using ransomware or other online technology. The term online fraud is commonly used for these.

According to the data obtained by Ground Report, 865 complaints related to cybercrime have been registered in the district from 1 April 2024 to 31 May 2025. Out of these, only 81 complaints have been refunded Rs 18,95,566 to the victims. The remaining cases are still pending, in which a hold has been put on about 80 lakh rupees.

In response to a question asked in the State Assembly, the Chief Minister of the state, who also holds the charge of the Home Ministry, Dr. Mohan Yadav, said that in 2023 and 2024, people have lost more than Rs 150 crore due to cybercrime. Out of this, more than Rs 137 crore has been lost in online fraud.

If we compare the figures of both years, in 2023, 444 cases of online fraud were registered in the state. In 2024, there was an increase of 17% and these cases reached 521. While in 2023, people lost a total of Rs 44.26 crore due to these crimes, in 2024, this amount increased by 111% to Rs 93.60 crore.

The figures presented in response to a question related to this in Parliament on 24 July 2024 are also worrying. In 2018, 27248 cases related to cybercrime were registered in India, which increased to 65,893 by 2022. However, separate data on online fraud has not been given in Parliament.

Indore and Bhopal have emerged as hotspots of cybercrime in Madhya Pradesh. According to the data presented by the Chief Minister, the highest number of cases were registered in Indore (184 and 141, respectively) in 2023 and 2024, while in Bhopal this figure was 53 and 77, respectively.

Speaking at a workshop on May 16, 2024, Rajesh Kumar, CEO of the Indian Cyber ​​Crime Coordination Center (I4C), said that most cyber criminals operate from the eastern and southern states of the country and areas adjacent to Delhi. Apart from this, many criminals also operate from South Asian countries.

The Poor are the Most Vulnerable

In another incident, in Rajgarh, on 19 December 2022, a bus driver received a call. They introduced themselves as staff of Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV)— a central government-run school. Balkrishna was told that his 52-seater bus is needed to take the school staff to Jaipur in Rajasthan. And, his account details were necessary to get the permits. At first, Rs 5 were sent to his bank. Later, he received a QR code. He scanned the code, and Rs 4,000 disappeared from his account. Balkrishna had saved this money for his ailing wife's health needs and emergencies.

Though he realized instantly that he had been duped. He went to the local police station and registered his complaint. He gave a written complaint application to the Kotwali police station. Quite like Sanju, to date, he awaits any updates.

The process can be cumbersome, especially for those who have been harmed. Victims often face a difficult choice: either get involved in the long and tiring follow-up, losing their daily wages/income, or move on and focus on their work. Both Sanju Jatav and Balkrishna come from economically weaker backgrounds. The amount they lost may not seem significant by many standards, but for them, with limited savings, the loss is marked. And the process of seeking redress is both time-consuming and uncertain.

How do the Police Do Their Job?

Vivek Sharma, in-charge of the Rajgarh Cyber Crime Cell, said that once a complaint is filed, a chain is generated on the cyber crime portal. This helps the police trace the accounts where the defrauded money has been transferred. Sharma further explained, “To get the details of the accounts, a mail is sent to the concerned bank. If there is money in the victim's account, then a hold is put on it.”

But how does the victim get the money? Responding to this, Sharma said, “To get the amount refunded, we go through the court. First, the victim applies to the court, then the court asks us for representation. The court passes an order based on the representation we give.”

In 2024, 38 criminals were caught in 26 cases. Most of these were from Rajasthan. At the same time, the highest number of criminals were from Bihar, Gujarat, Kerala, and Jammu and Kashmir, respectively.

Talking to Ground Report, the former in-charge of Rajgarh Cyber ​​Cell, Jitendra Ajnare, said that criminals scan people's social media accounts. Here, people often share personal information, which these people use to commit fraud.

The Syndicate and the Police

According to the recently published The State of AI-Powered Cybercrime: Threat & Mitigation Report 2025, 8 out of 10 phishing emails sent by organized groups are generated by AI. The organized e-crime syndicates like FIN7 use AI to target India's hospitality chains and restaurants.

At the same time, the fraudsters who trap people like Sanju Jatav told a media organization that he lives in Mewat, Haryana. Then, he introduces himself as a businessman related to any daily need service. Then, he’ll explain the problem. For instance, payments are not coming through on his phone. So, he wants to use the victim's number, and he will come and collect it the next day. Initially, they transfer their money to win trust. And, they fool them. He explained that this is all luck-based. After calling for 4 to 5 hours, a person will get trapped.

In a media investigation in Nuh, Haryana, just 83 km from Delhi, one fraudster confessed: “We posted fake car ads on OLX, pricing them at half the market rate. After tempting buyers with calls, we asked them to bring cash to a set location. Our team would then rob them, including their vehicles.” According to him, such scams could make them ₹15–20 lakh each month.

One of the criminals said that during police raids, they flee the village, sometimes spending the night in forests or fields. They might not return home for six to seven days. They further explained, when a complaint is filed, a ‘Red Error’ alert appears on their phone. To avoid being tracked, they place their SIM card in a bottle filled with water.

How to Avoid Being a Victim?

Shakeel Anjum regularly organizes cyber awareness programs in Rajgarh. Speaking to Ground Report, he said, "Most victims of cybercrime in Rajgarh are less educated and come from economically weaker backgrounds. They have limited knowledge about how such crimes happen, how to file a complaint, or how to protect themselves, making them easy targets."

Shakeel emphasised basic precautions to stay safe: never share your OTP or password with anyone, avoid scanning QR codes sent by unknown people in UPI apps, and don’t install unfamiliar apps or grant access to them.

He also advises enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) on social media and Gmail accounts, using strong passwords, and avoiding suspicious links.

Often, the problem lies in the growing reliance on digital payments and OTP-based systems, while many users—especially from vulnerable communities—have limited understanding of how they work. At the same time, a lack of adequate awareness campaigns to build trust and ensure transparency among these populations.

The current government intends to digitize the Indian economy with online payments, data, and information storage on ‘secure’ cloud services, and biometric details. The expectation is that this would reduce queues in banks and other government offices. This might have a completely different impact. A select few use the digital ecosystem, but almost all are obligated to become part of it. India’s digital infrastructure is undoubtedly growing. At the same time, the possibility of scams. The administration has to ensure that the most vulnerable stay safe and become part of India’s digital future.

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