21,900 digital arrest complaints registered till Sept: MHA to SC

More than 21,900 complaints of digital arrest fraud involving over ₹647 crore were registered in the first eight months of 2026 from January 1 to August 31, according to a status report filed by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) before the Supreme Court, which took suo motu cognisance of the menace a year ago.India NewsThe court took suo motu cognisance of the matter on October 17, 2025, after receiving a letter from a Haryana-based senior citizen couple who were cheated of over ₹1 crore by fraudsters posing as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers. The accused kept the couple under digital arrest through WhatsApp calls and video conferences, using forged Supreme Court orders to intimidate them.At the time, the court was informed of 123,672 complaints involving ₹1,935 crore registered from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024.In 2025, the complaints came down to 58,239 involving ₹1,211 crore between January 1 and December 31.The latest report, filed on October 7, details measures being taken by law enforcement agencies, banks, telecom companies and social media platforms to curb the fraud, recover victims’ money and prevent further losses.Reporting and recoveryA Grievance Redressal Portal (GRP), launched by the home ministry in February, became fully operational across the country in April 2026. As of September 30, it covered 109 banks and 1.28 lakh branches across states and Union territories.The task of giving publicity to the GRP has been entrusted by the court to all states, UTs, state legal services committees, and high courts. The latest status report indicates that out of 93,041 grievances received on the portal in relation to cybercrimes and cyber frauds, the concerned law enforcement agencies have acted upon 60,638 grievances.On August 4, the top court had directed that similar to I4C, there should be a State Cybercrime Coordination Centre (S4C) for better coordination and expeditious action on complaints. Except for Jharkhand, all states have established S4C, the status report stated. An online zero FIR mechanism for cybercrime complaints is also being rolled out, with Himachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep, Manipur and Nagaland yet to operationalise it.Under the e-Zero FIR, the number of complaints have seen a sharp rise from 2% to 8% across all states and UTs.A Money Restoration Portal (MRP), launched in April, has facilitated refunds to victims, the report said. Of more than six lakh refund or restoration requests, law enforcement agencies issued 4.69 lakh orders, resulting in the restoration of ₹332.7 crore, of which ₹112.96 crore were restored by the banks to the victims.Banking safeguardsThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is seeking to amend its existing instructions on ‘Operations of Bank Accounts and Money Mules’ under which the banks are mandated to undertake due diligence measures and monitor the transactions meticulously to identify accounts which are operated as ‘money mules” and take action as per a draft SOP being prepared by RBI.To operationalise the draft RBI SOP, its integration is necessary with the GRP and MRP. The tentative timeline for its operationalisation is December 2026, subject to completion of the requisite technical development, integration, testing and implementation processes, the report submitted in court stated.The RBI had informed the I4C and the inter-departmental committee (IDC) examining the issue of digital arrests that enhanced measures are being examined to prevent such frauds from taking place. It is in discussion over implementing the delayed transaction safeguard or the lagged credit mechanism as a means to protect customers from losing their money.While some banks have supported the initiative, others have adopted a view that it may inconvenience customers and its effectiveness may diminish over time given the evolving nature of frauds. The overall cost-benefits analysis of implementing the proposal is being examined.The RBI issued the ‘Customer Protection in Fraudulent Electronic Banking Transactions’ on June 24 which extends a compensation mechanism for small value fraudulent electronic banking transactions (EBT) and shortens the complaint resolution timeline. The instructions, that will take effect from January 1, 2027 shorten the complaint resolution timeline from 90 days to 45 days in case of domestic fraudulent EBTs and 60 days for cross-border fraudulent EBTs.A genuine individual victim lodging a complaint regarding fraudulent EBT involving gross loss up to ₹50,000 can receive a compensation of 85% of the net loss or ₹25,000, whichever is less, only once during the victim’s lifetime. To qualify for such compensation, the fraud must be reported to the bank and NCRP or the helpline 1930 within five calendar days of occurrence of fraud.Some banks have also implemented additional technological interventions which include UPI payee or keyword blocking; disabling mobile banking while a call is active; WhatsApp-based dispute mechanisms; in-app fraud reporting with immediate debit freeze; and enhanced due diligence workflows for flagged beneficiary accounts.Other measures which are underway include real-time branch alerts for suspected digital arrest situations, behavioural biometrics and common customer risk scoring, and enhanced real-time monitoring of suspected beneficiary accounts.Investigation and preventionThe Supreme Court has directed the CBI to investigate digital arrest cases involving fraud of ₹10 crore or more. Since December 1, 2025, the agency has arrested more than 49 people and filed charge sheets against over 140, the report said.The top court had on August 4 asked the Centre to consider a suggestion made by amicus curiae and senior advocate NS Nappinai for introducing a mechanism such as “kill switch” which is a mechanism for automatic disconnecting long duration audio/video calls.The latest report submitted in court states that a similar facility has already been implemented by all major telecom service providers and the duration of the call ranges up to 180 minutes at maximum.Since digital arrest cases involve video calls of long duration with the victims, the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) held a meeting last month with Meta and Telegram to discuss the technical feasibility of introducing kill switch. WhatsApp and Telegram raised practical concerns on its implementation even as it supported the need to have a graded approach.The court will take up the matter on October 29. The inter-departmental committee examining digital arrest fraud is also preparing a proposal on victim compensation and shared liability.EOM