Around 39% of families in a survey claimed to have experienced financial fraud in the last three years and only 24% of them got their funds back, LocalCircles said in a report on May 2.
The largest group of 23% respondents in the survey indicated to have experienced credit or debit card fraud while 13% indicated fraud by buying, selling and classified site users.
Also Read | 1930 helpline stands between online fraudsters and gullible customers; ₹306 crore saved since 2021
As per the survey, 13% were defrauded by websites taking money for products that were not delivered, 10% indicated ATM card fraud, another 10% indicated bank account fraud and 16% mentioned other frauds.
"The data shows 30% of those surveyed had one member in the family who had been a victim of financial fraud while 9% indicated that multiple members in their family have been subject to financial fraud in the last three years. Of the remaining 57% were thankful they or their family members had escaped such an experience and 4% gave no clear response," online survey firm LocalCircles said in the report.
The firm said that the survey received nearly 32,000 responses from families located in 331 districts of India comprising 66% male respondents and 34% women.
About 39% respondents were from tier 1, 35% from tier 2 and 26% respondents were from tier 3, 4 and rural districts.
When asked if the victims were able to get their funds, 24% of 11,305 responses received indicated that they were able to get back their funds while 70% could not get any resolution to their complaint.
The data showed 18% filed a complaint with the designated platform or entity and got back the money and 6% filed a complaint with authorities and got back the funds.
"However, 41% indicated that the 'matter is still pending', 17% feel helpless stating 'there was nowhere to go', 12% of those surveyed admitted that they decided to not even file a complaint and 6% gave no clear response," the report said.
A comparative study with the response received last year shows that while the percentage of families reporting financial frauds has slightly reduced in 2023 compared to 2022 (previous 3 years), the percentage of those reporting credit and debit card frauds has risen from 18% last year to 23% now.
"What is promising is that the percentage of families who have reported financial frauds and were able to get back their funds has risen from 17% in 2022 to 24% in 2023 [previous 3 years], which shows that both the platforms or entities and the authorities are taking more timely and effective action than they did 12 months ago," the report said.
