Fraud Cases Surge Nearly 190% in Türkiye Over Four Years, Justice Data Shows

Fraud has emerged as the fastest-growing crime in Türkiye, increasing nearly fivefold between 2021 and 2025, according to official justice statistics. The data highlights not only a sharp rise in criminal cases but also deeper socioeconomic pressures driving the trend.

Fraud Becomes Fastest-Growing Crime

Türkiye’s Ministry of Justice has released its 2025 judicial statistics, revealing a dramatic and sustained rise in fraud-related offenses.

According to the data, fraud cases recorded the highest proportional increase among major crime categories such as homicide, assault, sexual offenses, and theft.

The year-by-year increase is as follows:

• 2021 → 2022: +41%
• 2022 → 2023: +25%
• 2023 → 2024: +41%
• 2024 → 2025: +18%

Overall, fraud cases have surged by approximately 190% over four years, making it the most rapidly expanding category in the criminal justice system.

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Rising Caseload Despite Broader Decline

While most crime categories saw a decline in newly opened case files between 2024 and 2025, fraud and drug trafficking stood out as exceptions:

• Fraud (TCK 157–159): +18%
• Drug production and trafficking (TCK 188): +11%

This divergence underscores the structural nature of fraud-related offenses compared to other crimes.

Court Data: Growing Number of Defendants and Convictions

The statistics also reveal a significant increase in prosecutions and convictions:

2025:

• 158,454 fraud cases filed
• 126,746 defendants tried
• 137,432 convictions issued across 94,775 cases

2024:

• 169,190 cases
• 113,480 defendants
• 45,411 convictions

2023:

• 119,922 cases
• 86,939 defendants
• 33,799 convictions

The steady rise in convictions suggests that fraud is not only increasing in frequency but also becoming more visible and prosecutable.

Inequality and Economic Pressures Drive Crime

Analysts point to worsening income inequality and economic hardship as key drivers behind the surge.

According to the World Inequality Database (2026 report):

• The top 10% of income earners receive 53.3% of total income
• The bottom 50% receive just 15.2%

The income gap between these groups has widened significantly over the past decade.

At the same time:

• The cost of living for a single worker has reached TRY 50,000 per month
• The poverty threshold for a family of four exceeds TRY 32,000
• Roughly 4 in 10 children live in poverty
• Broad unemployment is estimated at around 12 million people

These conditions are weakening social mobility and reducing expectations for future prosperity.

Fraud Networks and “Easy Money” Traps

Authorities and analysts warn that economic hardship is pushing more individuals toward fraudulent schemes or making them vulnerable to such networks.

Common fraud methods include:

• Identity and property fraud
• Online and credit card scams
• Phishing attacks
• Deposit (advance payment) scams
• Exploitation of religious sentiments
• Forged documentation

Organized criminal groups often promote these schemes as opportunities for “quick and easy income,” targeting financially strained individuals.

Beyond Morality: Structural Causes of Crime

Experts caution against explaining the rise in fraud solely through moral or cultural decline.

Instead, they emphasize structural causes rooted in economic conditions.

Dutch criminologist Willem Bonger, in his work Criminality and Economic Conditions, argued that crime in capitalist societies often reflects underlying class inequalities and conflicts of interest.

In this context, fraud can be seen as both:

• A response to economic pressure
• A product of systems that commodify aspirations for wealth and upward mobility

A Systemic Challenge

The rapid normalization of fraud in Türkiye reflects broader systemic issues:

• Deepening inequality
• Weakening social protection mechanisms
• Limited access to quality public services
• Declining trust in economic mobility

As a result, the issue extends beyond law enforcement and into the realm of economic policy and social stability.

Kansu Yıldırım, Evrensel