Cyber crime: the first steps after an online fraud

Cyber fraud differs from most offences in one important respect: money moves through a chain of accounts within minutes, and the practical possibility of freezing it falls away quickly. Reporting is therefore not something to postpone until the position is fully understood.

Report immediately

1. Call 1930, the national cyber crime helpline for financial fraud, as soon as the fraud is noticed. The purpose is to get the transaction flagged so that the receiving account can be put on hold.
2. File a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at cybercrime.gov.in. Keep the acknowledgement number.
3. Inform your bank or payment provider in writing, not only by telephone. Ask for the complaint reference and note the time.
4. Approach the police station or the cyber cell for registration of an FIR where the matter warrants it.

Reporting an unauthorised electronic banking transaction promptly also matters for the customer's liability under the Reserve Bank of India's directions on the subject: the extent of a customer's liability depends significantly on how quickly the transaction is reported.

Preserve the evidence properly

Electronic evidence is fragile and easily rendered useless. From the moment you notice the fraud:

• Do not delete messages, emails, call records or application data, however unpleasant they are to keep.
• Take full screenshots that include the sender's number or address, the date and the time — not cropped images of the text alone.
• Preserve transaction references, UTR numbers, bank statements and payment gateway confirmations.
• Note the URL of any website involved, in full, and the name of any application, with the version if visible.
• Where a device may itself be evidence, avoid resetting or reinstalling it.

Certification of electronic records

Electronic evidence produced in court ordinarily requires a certificate relating to the record, under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 — the provision corresponding to Section 65B of the Evidence Act. Obtaining that certificate from the bank, the platform or the service provider is a step that is frequently overlooked until the trial stage, by which point the material may no longer be retrievable.

What to be wary of afterwards

• Recovery scams. People who have been defrauded are frequently approached a second time by someone offering to recover the money for a fee. Treat any such approach as a fresh fraud.
• Unofficial helpline numbers found through search results or social media. Use the numbers printed on your bank's own card, statement or official website.
• Sharing further details. Do not disclose OTPs, card details, or remote-access codes to anyone, including callers who identify themselves as bank or police officials.

Conclusion

In online fraud, procedure and speed do most of the work. Reporting through the official channels within hours, and preserving the record carefully from the outset, gives both the investigation and any later proceeding something solid to work with.