Bengaluru, the tech capital of India, tops the list of metropolitan cities in reported cybercrime cases, as per the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.

According to the Crime in India 2024 report published by NCRB, of the total 20,587 cybercrimes reported in 2024 from 19 metros in the country, 17,561 cases were from Bengaluru.

While marginally lower than the 17,631 cases reported in 2023, it was still a significant jump from the 9,940 cases reported in 2022.

The city also registered an alarming cybercrime rate of 206.6 crimes per one lakh population, the highest among all metro cities. On the other hand, the chargesheeting rate remained at 24.2%, one of the lowest among all the 19 metropolitan cities considered and lower than other cities such as Delhi and Chennai.

Online impersonation tops the list

Among the types of cybercrimes recorded in the city, the highest number of cases were registered under ‘cheating by personation using computer resources’, i.e., online impersonation fraud. As many as 16,657 such cases were registered from the city, pushing the total number of similar cases across all metros to 18,131. This comes at a time when an increasing number of ‘digital arrest’ frauds are being reported from across the country.

A significant number of cases were also reported under identity theft and the publication or transmission of obscene or sexually explicit acts in electronic form.

Interestingly, zero cases were registered under cyber stalking, bullying of women/ children, data theft, fraud related to credit card/debit card, ATM, online banking, OTP, gaming apps or websites, fraud calls, counterfeiting, cyber blackmailing, or fake news.

Low conviction rate

The data shows that despite the high number of reported cybercrime cases in the city, only a minuscule portion of them result in convictions. While 5,431 cybercrime cases came up for trial before the court in 2024, only three resulted in convictions. As many as 45 cases ended in acquittals, while 3,640 were disposed of without trial. The conviction rate stood at a mere 6.3%, among the lowest recorded across metros.

With reference to law enforcement, the total number of cybercrime cases under investigation stood at 31,745 (including those pending from previous years), while 18,843 cases were disposed of by the police. The chargesheeting rate was recorded at 24.2%, lower than that of counterparts such as Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata.

Karnataka trails only behind Telangana

Among Indian States and Union Territories, Karnataka recorded the second-highest number of cybercrime cases, behind only Telangana. Although the State recorded 21,993 cybercrimes in 2024, this marks a marginal drop from the figures in 2023 and a significant drop from the cases in 2022.

With a cybercrime rate of 32.2 per one lakh population, the State, however, treads well above the national average of 7.3. Despite recording the second-highest number of cybercrime cases, Karnataka’s chargesheeting rate stood at only 22.1%

Highest number of cybercrimes against women

Marking another grim reality, the State reported the highest number of cybercrimes against women. Of the 18,615 cybercrimes against women nationally, 6,325 were reported from Karnataka. As many as 96 cases of cybercrimes against children were also reported from the State.

While the police disposed of 23,468 cybercrime cases in the State in 2024, courts disposed of 3,969 cases. As many as 65 cases resulted in convictions, making the conviction rate 23%.

The motive for the majority of cybercrimes from the State as well as the city was reported as ‘fraud.’ The other prominent motives included extortion, sexual exploitation, and even ‘developing own business.’