Kathmandu – Nepal’s Cyber Bureau recorded 18,926 cybercrime cases in fiscal year 2024-25, averaging around 52 cases daily. Although slightly lower than last year’s 19,730, officials warn the dip may reflect underreporting, decentralization of case handling, and data lags rather than true improvement.
Superintendent Deepak Raj Awasthi noted that district police now manage some cybercrime cases locally, impacting central reporting. He highlighted a surge in cyber fraud, which accounted for 7,723 cases—an 87.8% increase from the previous year and nearly half of all cybercrimes reported.
Other recorded offenses include 3,503 account hacks, 3,067 fake or impersonated accounts, 1,801 bullying and harassment cases, 1,026 criminal defamation incidents, and 495 hate speech reports. Sexual offenses included 437 sexting cases, 84 sextortion reports, and 8 sexual assault allegations. The bureau also logged threats of violence, image morphing cases, and digital abuse disproportionately affecting women.
Social media platforms like Facebook and Messenger saw the highest incidence with 9,829 cases, followed by TikTok, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Instagram. Telegram-related cases (1,509) were mostly fraud-related, with limited cooperation from the platform hindering investigations.
The data reveals an increase in cybercrimes targeting minors, with 351 cases filed by boys and 421 by girls. Overall victims numbered 7,921 women, 9,787 men, and 446 organizations. Men are primarily targeted in fraud cases, while women face more harassment, bullying, sextortion, and threats.
The bureau reports growing challenges with sophisticated ‘cyber-dependent’ crimes such as unauthorized server access, data breaches, and malware attacks, which require international cooperation and advanced forensic capabilities—resources Nepal currently lacks.
Legal gaps also impede effective responses. Nepal’s Electronic Transaction Act (ETA) 2008 lacks comprehensive cybercrime definitions and struggles with overlapping case categorizations, impacting data accuracy and prosecution consistency.
Despite the slight reduction in reported cases, the cybercrime landscape in Nepal remains volatile, with escalating fraud and evolving threats underscoring the urgent need for a modernized, well-equipped, and agile cybercrime response framework.
