Economic crime hit 66% Indian firms in past 2 years, platform fraud surged: Report

The study, titled “Platforms: The new frontier of fraud in India,” is part of PwC’s Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey 2022: India Insights series.

Platform fraud, encompassing deceptive activities on social media, e-commerce, enterprise, and fintech platforms, accounted for 57% of all fraud incidents in India. Over 26% of Indian organisations have lost over $1 million to such frauds, with 44% of perpetrators committing fraud for financial gain.

The report underscores that platforms are a new avenue for economic crime, with 99% of fraud incidents in the past 24 months occurring on various platforms. Financial gain is the primary motive among perpetrators, with brand damage and competitive advantage cited as other motivations.

Puneet Garkhel, Partner and Leader, Forensics Services, PwC India, emphasises the need for organisations to invest in fraud prevention and detection strategies to counter these evolving threats.

The study also found that enterprise platforms are particularly vulnerable to malware, phishing, money laundering, and ransomware, with financial frauds accounting for 89% of all platform frauds. Payment fraud, particularly involving credit cards and digital wallets, accounted for 92% of all customer frauds in India.

The report highlights that many businesses remain unaware of their exposure to platform fraud and do not view platforms as a distinct sector with unique risk considerations. As transaction processing shifts to platforms, the responsibility for security must also transition, but many platforms lack the necessary capabilities to identify, prevent, and mitigate fraud.