Fraud in India: The Changing Landscape
The event opened with Mr. Manish Thakwani, Head of Business Development – India & South Asia at JuicyScore. He shared an analysis of how fraud patterns in India are evolving. He emphasized that financial institutions can no longer rely on traditional fraud detection methods, as fraudsters are leveraging multi-accounting, synthetic identities, and behavioral manipulation to bypass security systems.
JuicyScore’s data revealed that:
- High-value fraud cases (₹100,000+) surged 4x in FY 23–24, resulting in industry losses of ₹177 crore (~$20M).
- India ranks among the top three globally in virtual machine usage for fraud, with manipulated connections occurring 50% more frequently than in Southeast Asia.
- Identity theft-related fraud spikes by 5–10% during festive seasons, taking advantage of high transaction volumes.
- As digital transactions continue to rise, with UPI processing over 15 billion transactions monthly, the associated risks are growing significantly.
The Power of Multi-Layered Fraud Prevention
Fraud techniques are becoming increasingly sophisticated. In response, JuicyScore presented its multi-layered fraud prevention approach, focusing on:
- Device intelligence – identifying risk factors without using personal data
- Behavioral analysis – detecting unusual browsing patterns, device resets, and automation attempts
- Network security checks – monitoring for proxies, VPNs, and remote access risks
- With a 3% increase in the use of randomization tools over the past three years, businesses require more adaptive fraud detection systems that evolve with emerging threats.
Consumer Protection: How Regulation Is Catching Up
Ms. Aditi Verma from the Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE) provided insights into India’s growing self-regulatory efforts. She highlighted:
- Crackdowns on illegal lending apps
- Enhanced consumer education and protection initiatives
- Ongoing collaboration with RBI, MHA, and cybersecurity agencies to build standardized fintech security practices
Ms. Verma noted that balancing financial inclusion with strong risk controls remains a critical challenge, requiring robust governance frameworks.
Smartphone Behavior & Financial Risk Assessment
Mr. Sayan Basak from DCB Bank delivered a compelling session on how mobile data is transforming credit risk assessment. As smartphone usage surges, alternative data is playing a larger role in financial models.
His research showed:
- Device fingerprinting helps prevent loan stacking and identity fraud
- Browsing behavior and app usage offer new insights into financial stability
- “SATTA” (a gambling-related search) is among India’s top 25 search terms, indicating behavioral red flags for lenders
Mr. Basak stressed the importance of moving beyond traditional credit models and incorporating real-time, smartphone-based risk indicators.
Fraud in Insurance: The Growing Challenge
Dr. Pankaj Srivastava offered a brief look into the increasing complexity of insurance fraud. He shared general trends and use cases, such as manipulation of healthcare networks and document forgery, to highlight how insurance fraud can also affect the broader financial services ecosystem.
His remarks reinforced the need for AI-driven detection tools to help insurers identify fraud early and mitigate financial impact.
The Road Ahead: Strengthening India’s Fraud Prevention Ecosystem
The event concluded with a forward-looking discussion on India’s fraud prevention landscape. Experts agreed that cross-industry collaboration, regulatory alignment, and AI-powered risk assessment are essential to combating increasingly sophisticated fraud threats.
As India’s digital finance ecosystem continues to expand, stakeholders across fintech, banking, and insurance must work together to build scalable, adaptive fraud prevention frameworks. This includes leveraging alternative data sources, behavioral signals, and advanced machine learning models.
JuicyScore’s event in Mumbai reaffirmed the importance of adopting next-generation fraud detection strategies that go beyond traditional methods. With future gatherings already in the pipeline, JuicyScore remains committed to driving industry-wide conversations that shape the future of digital risk.