Indian banks see 146% spike in text-message-based scams
A new report shows a sharp escalation in fraud in India originating from mobile devices, with reported cases of text-message-based scams increasing 146% between the second half of 2025 and the first half of 2026 compared to the same period a year earlier.
Mobile fraud sessions rose 67% overall during the period, including an 86% increase on iOS devices and a 35% increase on Android. Meanwhile, web browser-based fraud sessions declined by 10%, underscoring the continued shift toward mobile attack channels.
“SMS scams are particularly effective because they exploit trusted communication channels, making fraudulent messages appear legitimate and prompting customers to act before they stop to question what they’re seeing,” BioCatch Director of Global Fraud Intelligence Tom Peacock said.
BioCatch, which prevents fraud, scams, and financial crime by recognizing patterns in human behavior, published these findings based off proprietary data from its customers in India. The data also shows a 35% increase in the total value of attempted fraud payments, while average call length declined 31% and median fraud session length fell by 32%.
“The combination of higher-value fraud attempts and shorter calls and sessions tells us attackers are becoming far more efficient,” Peacock said. “Scams are increasingly refined, with criminals using well-rehearsed social engineering and automated techniques to persuade victims and move money before warning signs appear.”
India’s rapid adoption of Unified Payments Interface (UPI), mobile banking, e-commerce, and online investment platforms has created a highly digital payments ecosystem that remains an attractive target for fraudsters. Yet, despite higher-value fraud attempts, BioCatch customers recorded a 12% decline in attempted fraud sessions.
“The encouraging news is that we’re seeing greater collaboration between banks, the Reserve Bank of India, the I4C, and law enforcement,” BioCatch Global Advisory Director Subhashish Bose said. “Behavioral intelligence helps banks move beyond point-in-time authentication to continuous assessment of user intent, enabling them to detect scams earlier and respond more quickly.”
