Amid the alarming rise in digital arrest scams across the country, the Central Government and Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have devised a new system to identify and block incoming international spoofed calls that display Indian mobile numbers.
Fraudsters engaged in these scams typically call from international numbers that falsely appear as Indian mobile numbers, deceiving unsuspecting victims into believing the call is from a legitimate domestic source.
Responding to a question, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, stated that the Ministry of Home Affairs has established the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) as an attached office to handle all types of cybercrimes in a coordinated and comprehensive manner.
He further stated that the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) (https://cybercrime.gov.in) has been launched as part of I4C to enable the public to report incidents related to all types of cybercrimes, with a special focus on crimes against women and children.
Cybercrime incidents reported on the portal, their conversion into FIRs, and subsequent legal action are handled by the respective State/UT law enforcement agencies under applicable laws.
To combat financial cyber fraud, the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS) was launched in 2021 under I4C. This platform allows immediate reporting of financial fraud and aims to prevent fraudsters from siphoning off funds.
₹5,489 Crore Saved Through Financial Fraud Reporting Platform
The Minister revealed that, according to CFCFRMS data, over ₹5,489 crore has been saved in response to more than 17.82 lakh complaints received so far.
A toll-free helpline number, 1930, has been operationalized to assist citizens in lodging cybercrime complaints. In addition, a state-of-the-art Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre (CFMC) has been established under I4C, where representatives from major banks, financial intermediaries, payment aggregators, telecom service providers, IT companies, and state/UT law enforcement agencies collaborate for immediate action and seamless coordination in tackling cybercrime.
The Minister also stated that the Central Government has launched the Sanchar Saathi portal (www.sancharsaathi.gov.in) to empower mobile subscribers, enhance their digital security, and raise awareness about citizen-centric government initiatives.
The portal provides facilities for citizens to:
Report suspected fraudulent communications,
View all mobile connections issued in their name, and
Report lost or stolen mobile handsets.
Furthermore, the Central Government has launched an online Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) for sharing telecom misuse-related information with relevant stakeholders.
