Rs 1,800 Crore Saved: Centre's Cybercrime Registry Stops Over 6 Lakh Financial Fraud Transactions Since Launch In September 2024

In just three months since its launch, the Centre’s online ‘suspect registry’ has proven to be a game-changer in combating financial cybercrime, preventing over six lakh fraudulent transactions and saving Rs 1,800 crore, according to a source in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

The registry, developed under the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), now holds data on 1.4 million cybercriminals linked to financial fraud and other cyber offences. 

Officially launched by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on 10 September 2024, the system was created by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) in collaboration with banks and financial institutions to centralise information on cybercrime suspects.

“To enhance the fraud risk management capabilities of the country’s financial system, they are now using data from the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), the registry makes it possible to identify cybercriminals as potential threats,” an official said.

By 1 December 2024, the registry had enabled the prevention of approximately 6.10 lakh fraudulent transactions, resulting in Rs 1,800 crore in savings.

“A few days ago, the Reserve Bank of India has asked all banks to be a part of this initiative and use the suspect registry in their system,” the source added.

The government also launched the Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre (CFMC) on the same day, bringing together financial institutions, telecom operators, and law enforcement to fight financial cybercrimes. 

As of 1 December 2024, CFMC has facilitated the freezing of 8.67 lakh mule accounts and the blocking of 7 lakh SIM cards and 1.4 lakh mobile devices. Additionally, 1.03 lakh pieces of suspicious online content have been blocked under the Information Technology Act 2000.

The initiative underscores the Centre’s commitment to cooperative federalism in law enforcement and has saved a total of Rs 3,850 crore since the launch of the Citizen Financial Cyber Frauds Reporting and Management System in 2021.