Tuesday, Oct 20, 2026

Lost money online? More hands to help now

MHA recently operationalised a national helpline number and a Citizen Financial Cyber Frauds Reporting and Management System in 16 States/Union Territories including Telangana

By Dennis Marcus Mathew

Updated On - 11 July 2021, 12:52 AM

Lost money online? More hands to help now

Hyderabad: With financial transactions becoming all the more digital, cyber crooks too are working overtime, with financial cyber frauds on an unprecedented rise around the globe.
While reporting to the nearest cybercrime police station in the city is one compulsory step, there are more avenues now, with the Ministry of Home Affairs recently operationalising a national helpline number and a Citizen Financial Cyber Frauds Reporting and Management System.

Soft launched in April, the helpline and reporting platform were developed by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) with support from the Reserve Bank of India, all major banks, payment banks, wallets and online merchants.

Telangana is one among the 16 States/Union Territories where the system is operational as of now. According to information on the system available on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in), any victim of financial cyber fraud can dial the helpline number 155260 or report the incident on the cybercrime reporting portal.

According to the cybercrime portal, even a bank or financial intermediary or payment wallet can report financial cyber fraud. The complainant must provide some information, including mobile number, account number or UPI ID etc., in case the incident is reported on the helpline number.

After lodging the complaint, the complainant will get a system-generated login ID or acknowledgement number through SMS or mail. Using this, he or she must complete registration of the complaint on www.cybercrime.gov.in within 24 hours. This is mandatory, official documents say, adding that the earlier the incident is reported, the better the chance of recovering the lost money.

On receipt of the complaint, a designated police officer will quickly examine, verify and then report to the bank, financial intermediary or payment wallet concerned to block the money involved in the fraud. Legal action will be taken after that.