Six of 10 cybercrime cases registered in India now come from just the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as per the National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) 2024 report released in May. This raises the question: Are southern states facing a cybercrime epidemic, or are they simply better at detecting and recording offences that go unreported elsewhere in India?
Rising Cybercrime Trends
An overview of the rate and incidence of cybercrime over three years shows a steady increase in both overall incidence and the rate (crimes reported per one lakh population). The increase may be attributed to several factors: the addition of new provisions in the Indian Penal Code (IPC)/Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) to capture emerging forms of cybercrime; creation of new heads in the “Crime in India 2024” report using existing provisions in the IT Act; contribution of southern states to overall incidence; and the share of crimes such as fraud, cheating, and forgery.
Impact of BNS and New Categories
BNS, effective from July 1, 2024, introduced provisions addressing emerging cybercrimes like sexual intercourse by deceitful means, organized cybercrime, and publishing false or misleading information endangering national sovereignty. Cases registered under these provisions were 99, 60, and 2 respectively, indicating limited immediate impact but potential for future registration. Additionally, new crime categories in the 2024 report—breach of confidentiality and privacy (37 cases) and publication of electronic signature for fraudulent purposes (5 cases)—reflect IT Act provisions. While numbers are small, these inclusions affect year-on-year comparisons.
Concentration in Southern States
The most striking feature is the concentration of cybercrime in southern India. Cases rose from 65,000 in 2022 to 86,000 in 2023 and 1.1 lakh in 2024. Telangana led with 27,000 cases in 2024, up from 18,000 in 2023. Karnataka recorded 21,993 cases (crime rate 32.2). Tamil Nadu saw cases increase from 2,000 in 2022 to 6,000 in 2024, with its crime rate rising from 47.8 to 71.1 per lakh population. Together, southern states recorded 60,506 cases in 2024, accounting for 60% of India's total.
Fraud-Driven Growth
While India added 15,508 cybercrime cases from 2023 to 2024, a substantial share came from southern states, particularly Telangana and Tamil Nadu. Growth is largely driven by fraud-related offences. Southern states accounted for 79.2% of cheating-by-personation cases, 68.1% of fraud cases, and 58.1% of cheating cases. Variations exist: in Karnataka, cheating by personation dominated; in Telangana, fraud cases led; in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, fraud and cheating were significant.
Reporting Behavior and Policy Implications
Crime data informs policy to reduce offences. Poor reporting may stem from fear of police treatment or lack of faith in the system. Non-registration also occurs due to police fear that higher crime indicates poor performance—though the opposite is true: responsive systems encourage reporting, making high reporting a performance indicator. A 2019 Dutch study of 97,000 victims found cybercrimes among the least reported.
Crime rates reflect dynamic social, economic, cultural, and political changes. For cybercrime, additional influences include digital transaction scale, internet usage, social media, and online financial activity. Thus, high incidence in southern states may indicate greater digital exposure and willingness to report. Policymakers must discern how much increase stems from rising criminal activity versus improved detection and reporting.
(The writer is professor, department of criminology at University of Madras)
