Lok Sabha Question No. 203 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-02
Subject: Online Fraud
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: Janardan Singh Sigriwal, Krupal Balaji Tumane, S. Gnanathiraviam

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 203

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 02 ND  FEBRUARY, 2021/ MAGHA 13, 1942 (SAKA)

ONLINE FRAUD

203.  SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL: SHRI KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE: SHRI GNANATHIRAVIAM S.:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has taken cognizance of the increasing online frauds day by day in the country;

(b) if so, the details of such cases reported during each of the last three years  and  the  current  year  indicating  the  number  of  cases  resolved  and the number of criminals nabbed who indulged in fraudulent activities;

(c) the preventive guidelines for citizens issued by the Government;

(d)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  take  services  of  experts  in Information Technology to check such online fraudulent cases;

(e) if so, the details thereof and the concrete measures being taken by the Government to check such online fraudulent activities in the country;

(f)  whether  ban  on  Chinese  apps  will  safeguard  the  interest  of  crores  of Indian mobile and Internet users to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace; and

(g) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

(a) to (b):

With the enhanced use of cyber space, number of cyber crimes, including  online  fraud  is  also  increasing.  As  per  latest  published  data

maintained by National Crime Records Bureau, 3466, 3353 and 6233 cases of online frauds were registered in 2017, 2018 & 2019 respectively.  As per data  available,  1971,  1778  and  2542  persons  were  arrested  by  Law Enforcement  Agencies  (LEAs)  in  such  cases  in  2017,  2018  and  2019, respectively.

(c) to (e): 'Police' and 'Public Order' are State subjects as per Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India and States are primarily responsible for  prevention,  detection,  investigation,  prosecution  of  crimes  including cyber  crimes.    The  Law  Enforcement  Agencies  take  legal  action  as  per provisions of law against the cyber fraud offenders.

Law  Enforcement  Agencies  take  assistance  of  Information  Technology experts/professionals for disposal of online fraudulent cases as per their requirement. Further, States/UTs are responsible to build capacity of their Law Enforcement Agencies by imparting training to police personnel and hiring/recruiting human resources including Information Technology experts/professionals for handling & disposal of online fraud cases.

To strengthen the mechanism to deal with cyber crimes in a comprehensive  and  coordinated  manner,  the  Central  Government  has taken  steps  for  spreading  awareness  about  cyber  crimes;  issuance  of

alerts/advisories; capacity building/training of law enforcement personnel/prosecutors/judicial officers; improving cyber forensic facilities; etc.    The  Central  Government  has  also  launched  National  Cyber  Crime Reporting  Portal,  www.cybercrime.gov.in  to  enable  citizens  to  report complaints pertaining to all types  of cyber crimes  with special focus on cyber  crimes  against  women  and  children.    Reserve  Bank  of  India  has issued several circulars/ guidelines related to security and risk mitigation measures for securing electronic / digital payment transactions.

(f) to (g): Ministry  of  Electronics  &  Information  Technology  has  so  far blocked 266 mobile Apps since June, 2020 under the provisions of section 69  A  of  the  Information  Technology  Act,  2000  on  national  security concerns.  The usage of these Apps by a large number of people in India enables  compilation  of  huge  data  which  might  be  collated,  analysed, profiled  and  mined  by  elements  that  are  hostile  to  the  sovereignty  and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the State etc. as well as to the public order, apart from being detrimental to the interest of the general public.

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