Timely prevention of cyber fraud key: Shah

TImely bar of cyber hoax is the to the highest degree powerful artillery that requires collective sentience, coordination, and firm resolve from all stakeholders, Union home minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday, emphasising that had adequate steps not been taken, cyber fraud would have turned into a national crisis.Speaking at the two-day conference — ‘Tackling cyber-enabled frauds and dismantling the ecosystem’ — in Delhi, organised by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Shah called for collective efforts from various federal agencies, state police forces, financial institutions and other stakeholders to dismantle the network of cybercriminals.“Timely prevention of cyber fraud is the most powerful weapon, and this requires collective awareness, coordination, and firm resolve from all stakeholders. We have adopted a comprehensive and multi-dimensional strategy to combat cybercrime,” he said. “The key pillars of this strategy include real-time reporting, a robust network of forensic laboratories, capacity building, research and development, promotion of cyber awareness in society, and ensuring cyber hygiene.”The minister emphasised that the government’s goal is to bring together all relevant stakeholders, including CBI, National Investigation Agency (NIA), Reserve Bank of India, state police forces, other investigating agencies, and government departments, to create a coordinated and highly secure ecosystem. “Such coordination is essential to effectively combat cybercrime and to make India’s digital ecosystem safe and trustworthy,” he said.Shah asked police departments across the country to deploy an adequate number of personnel to attend calls on cybercrime reporting number, 1930, so that the money lost by victims can be promptly traced.“If a victim’s call is not answered even after ringing several times, by then their money is gone, and it puts a serious question mark on the credibility of 1930. Similarly, all private, public, and cooperative banks should immediately adopt the ‘mule account hunter’ software jointly developed by the government of India and RBI,” he said, underlining that until all banks completely clean their accounts using this software, it will not be possible to provide full protection to consumers.“If we do not have taken adequate steps, cyber fraud would not have remained just an ordinary crime, but would have turned into a national crisis. Therefore, all stakeholders must act simultaneously and urgently whether it is identifying call centres operating domestically or abroad, conducting awareness campaigns, strengthening the 1930 helpline, reducing call response times, or improving coordination between banks and I4C,” Shah saidSharing the successes achieved by I4C in the fight against cybercrimes, Shah said from January 2020 to November 30, 2025, the I4C reporting portal has been accessed over 230 million times. “This clearly reflects the platform’s widespread acceptance and importance. As of November 30, 2025, more than 8.2 million cybercrime-related complaints had been registered on the portal, of which 184,000 were converted into FIRs, and a large number of complaints were effectively resolved. By December 31, 2025, around 62 banks and financial institutions had joined this mechanism,” he said.In 361,000 cyber fraud complaints, Shah said, the government has successfully safeguarded ₹8,189 crore. “According to estimates, the total amount of fraud was around ₹20,000 crore, out of which we have frozen or returned ₹8,189 crore to the victims.”Till December 2025, the MHA had cancelled over 1.2 million suspicious SIM cards and blocked the IMEI numbers of over 300,000 mobile devices, Shah said, adding that till now, 20,853 accused have been arrested in cybercrime cases.Speaking at the event, CBI director Praveen Sood said the agency has a 90% conviction rate in cybercrimes and it coordinates with international agencies, including from the US, the UK, and Japan, to dismantle the organised international syndicates.CBI has also created a special cybercrime wing, which Shah inaugurated on Tuesday.