Exclusive: MHA’s new SOP for cyber financial frauds allows swift return of funds below Rs 50,000

According to fresh data compiled by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), a division under the MHA, Indians have lost more than Rs 52,976 crore to various fraud and cheating cases over the past six years.

Uniform process for cybercrimes

A source said the newly approved SOP establishes a uniform process for banks, payment aggregators, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), e-commerce platforms, stock-trading apps, mutual fund houses, and other financial intermediaries to follow when a cybercrime complaint is lodged against a suspicious transaction.

“The latest SOP provides a comprehensive grievance redressal mechanism for individuals whose accounts or funds have been unnecessarily frozen following cybercrime alerts. It prescribes a three-tier escalation structure to ensure time-bound resolution of complaints,” the source said.

Launched in 2021 under the I4C, the CFCFRMS was designed to enable immediate reporting of financial fraud and to prevent fraudsters from siphoning funds. By October 31 last year, more than Rs 7,130 crore had been saved through over 23.02 lakh complaints. The NCRP, also part of the I4C ecosystem, enables citizens to report incidents related to all categories of cybercrime.

Among its citizen-centric provisions, the SOP, a source said, also introduces a simplified system to restore funds that were defrauded. “For small-value frauds, where the amount held is below Rs 50,000, the refund can be processed swiftly without requiring a court order. Additionally, if no court or restoration order exists, banks will be obligated to lift the hold on such amounts within 90 days,” the source added.

Senior officials described the SOP as a crucial step towards building public trust in India’s digital payments ecosystem and enhancing the national cyber financial security framework.

“To operationalise the SOP, two digital modules, a grievance redressal module and a money restoration module, will be developed under the NCRP. These will streamline coordination among financial institutions, law enforcement agencies, and victims, ensuring faster refund of defrauded amounts and prompt redressal of grievances,” the source said.

Money lost to cybercrimes over the years

Data from the NCRP shows that around Rs 19,812.96 crore were lost across 21,77,524 cheating-related complaints in 2025. In comparison, approximately Rs 22,849.49 crore was lost across 19,18,852 complaints in 2024.

In 2023, approximately Rs 7,463.2 crore was lost across 13,10,361 complaints, while Rs 2,290.23 crore was lost across 6,94,446 complaints in 2022. In 2021, Rs 551.65 crore was lost across 2,62,846 complaints, and in 2020, Rs 8.56 crore was lost across 12,746 complaints.