A fifth of urban Indians claim they have lost money due to a scam

Latest data from YouGov shows that a fifth of urban Indians claim they have lost money due to a scam. Nearly half said their friend or family member has lost money due to this (47%). Only 28% haven’t lost any money and 10% are unsure of their view.

At present, three in ten urban Indians claim they receive scam texts, calls or messages daily (30%). A quarter get such communication on a weekly basis (24%). The rest receive it monthly (12%), every few months (14%) or longer than that (7%).

From the various types of scams prevalent in the country, online shopping or classified scams and job/ employment scams are most common among Indians, with more than a quarter saying that (27% and 26%, respectively). Bank/ card phishing scams are next most prevalent (21%), followed by investment scams (19%) and lottery scams (18%).

Close to a fifth have been a victim of social media phishing scams and loan scams (17% each). Charity scams (12%), government phishing scams (12%) and dating scams (11%) are some of the other scams common among urban Indians.

Viewing the data by generation reveals interesting differences. Among the top three scams, online shopping scams have been notably higher among millennials (at 33%) while job/employment scams are most common among Gen Z members (31%).

Three in ten (29%) urban Indians claim they have never been a victim of scams; however, this number increases to half among Baby Boomers (49%) and is comparatively the lowest among millennials (25%).

Even though most people have been a victim of some kind of scam, only 30% claim to have reported it. The majority (59%) have not reported it. Among those who did report the crime, 48% said they got their funds back, but another 46% did not.

Thinking about the responsibility of bearing scam losses, the largest proportion of urban Indians think the government should be responsible for bearing scam losses (26%). One in five think consumers (23%) should be held responsible, and another 22% feel banks should take accountability and reimburse customers who have suffered losses due to a scam. A very small percentage (4%) feel Telcos have a role to play and should be held accountable.

In order to protect themselves from scams, almost two-thirds of urbans Indians say they do not share personal details or financial information with anyone (65%). Ignoring or blocking unknown emails and phone numbers (59%), avoiding downloading software & apps from unofficial sources (57%) and verifying suspicious numbers and emails (55%) are some of the other ways through which people protect themselves against scams.

Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This data is based on a survey of adults aged 18+ years in India with a sample size of 1022 respondents. The survey was conducted online between November 6 and 13, 2023. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.