Lok Sabha Question No. 2633 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-04
Subject: Online Frauds and Scams
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Nalin Kumar Kateel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2633

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 04.12.2019

## ONLINE FRAUDS AND SCAMS

## 2633.   SHRI NALIN KUMAR KATEEL:

Will the Minister of Electronics & Information Technology be pleased to state:-

- (a) whether the Government has taken note of the fact that fraudsters leverage technology to mask identity and create fake e-mails and websites and if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto;
- (b) whether the Government has received any complaints over online fraud and online scams in the country and if so, the details thereof and the number of such complaints received by the Government during each of the last three years; and
- (c) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  introduce  any  mechanism  to  regulate  the  websites  and  resolve aforesaid complaints and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a):  Cyber space is a complex environment of people, software, hardware and services on the Internet. With a borderless cyberspace coupled with the possibility of instant communication and anonymity, the potential for misuse of cyberspace including identity theft, creation of fake-emails and websites is a global issue.

(b): As per information reported to Indian Computer Emergency response Team (CERT-In), a total of 3, 14 and 6 financial fraud incidents affecting ATMs, cards, Point of sale (PoS) systems and Unified Payment Interface (UPI)  have  been  reported  during  the  year  2016,  2017  and  2018  respectively.  Further,  Reserve  Bank  of  India (RBI) has registered a total of 1372, 2059 and 1866 cases of frauds involving ATM/Debit Cards, Credit Cards and Internet Banking Frauds reported (amount involved Rs. 1 lakh and above) during the year 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 respectively.

- (c):    'Police'  and  'Public  Order'  are  State  subjects  as  per  the  Constitution  of  India.  States/UTs  are  primarily responsible  for  prevention,  detection,  investigation  and  prosecution  of  crimes  through  their  law  enforcement machinery. Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) supports State Government initiatives through the various schemes and advisories.

Government has taken a number of legal, technical and administrative measures to prevent cyber crimes.  These inter alia , include:

- (i) Enactment  of  the  Information  Technology  Act  2000  which  has  provisions  to  deal  with  prevalent  cyber crimes.  The Act has specific provisions for stringent punishment and fine for identity theft (section 66C) and cheating by personation using computer resource (section 66D).
- (ii) To spread awareness on cyber crime, several steps have been taken that include dissemination of messages on cyber crime through MHA Twitter handle @cyberDost, radio campaign, publishing of Handbook for Adolescents  /  Students,  publishing  of  'Information  Security  Best  practices'  for  the  benefit  of  Govt. Officials/ Officers. Organizing of cyber Safety and Security Awareness weeks, in association with police department in different States/Uts etc.
- (iii) To prevent such crimes and to speed up investigation, MHA has taken several steps to spread awareness about  cyber  crimes  issue  through  alerts/  advisories,  capacity  building/training  of  law  enforcement personnel/ prosecutors/ judicial officers, improving cyber forensics facilities etc. MHA has also launched an online  national  cyber  crime  reporting  portal,  (www.cybercrime.gov.in)  to  enable  complainants  to  report complaints pertaining to all types of cyber crimes with special focus on cyber crimes against women and children.
- (iv) Ministry  of  Electronics  and  Information  Technology  through  a  program,  namely,  Information  Security Education & Awareness (ISEA), has been creating awareness among users highlighting the importance of following the ethics while using Internet and advising them not to share rumors/fake news. A dedicated website  for  information  security  awareness  (https://www.infosecawareness.in)  provides  all  the  relevant awareness material.
- (v) Cyber Crime Cells have been set up in all States and Union Territories for reporting and investigation of cyber crime cases.

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