Lok Sabha Question No. 3681 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-18
Subject: Cyber Fraud Redressal Mechanism
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri Naveen Jindal

## Government of India

## Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Department of Consumer Affairs

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3681

TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.12.2024

## CYBER FRAUD REDRESSAL MECHANISM

## 3681.   SHRI NAVEEN JINDAL:

## Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of current mechanism for cyber fraud redressal;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  made  any  efforts  to  improve  cyber  fraud  redressal  mechanism  on National Consumer Helpline and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the  fresh  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  effectively  address  the  rising  number  of  cyber  fraud complaints?

## ANSWER

## miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k jkT; ea=h ¼Jh ch- ,y- oekZ½

## THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI B.L. VERMA)

(a) to (c) :  'Police' and 'Public Order' are State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. The Government has established the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) as an attached office to provide a framework and eco-system for Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) to deal with cyber crimes in a comprehensive and coordinated manner. The Government has also launched the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (https://cybercrime.gov.in) to enable the public to report all types of cyber crimes. Cyber  crime  incidents  reported  on  this  portal  are  routed  automatically  to  the  respective  State/UT  law enforcement agency for further handling as per the provisions of law. The 'Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System' has been launched for immediate reporting of financial frauds and to stop siphoning off fund by the fraudsters. So far, financial amount of more than Rs. 3431 crore has been saved in more than 9.94 lakh complaints.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has taken many steps to spread awareness on cyber crime, which, inter-alia  include;  dissemination  of  messages  through  SMS,  I4C  social  media  account  i.e.  X  (formerly twitter)  (@Cyberdost),  Facebook  (CyberDostI4C),  Instagram  (cyberdostI4C),  Telegram  (cyberdosti4c), Radio campaign, engaged MyGov for publicity in multiple media, organizing Cyber Safety and Security Awareness  weeks,  in  association  with  States/UTs,  publishing  of  Handbook  for  Adolescents/Students, newspaper advertisement on digital arrest and other modus operandi of cyber criminals, use of social media influencers to create special posts on digital arrest, digital displays on railway stations and airports etc. The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued advisory to all the State/UT Governments to carry out publicity of National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (https://cybercrime.gov.in) and Toll-free helpline number '1930' to create mass awareness.

The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) administered by the Department of Consumer Affairs has emerged as a single point of access to consumers across the country for their grievance redressal at a prelitigation stage. Consumers can register their grievances from all over the country in 17 languages through a toll-free number 1915. These grievances can be registered on Integrated Grievance Redressal Mechanism (INGRAM), an omni-channel IT enabled central portal, through various channels- Whats App, SMS , mail ,  NCH  app,  web  portal,  Umang  app  as  per  their  convenience.  1022  Companies,  who  have  voluntarily partnered  with  NCH,  as  part  of  the  'Convergence'  programme  directly  respond  to  these  grievances according to their redressal process, and revert by providing a feedback to the complainant on the portal. Complaints  against  those  companies,  who  have  not  partnered  with  National  Consumer  Helpline,  are forwarded to the company's email id for redressal.

The Department of Consumer Affairs has notified the Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020 under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 to safeguard consumers from unfair trade practices  in  e-commerce.  These  rules,  inter-alia,  outline  the  responsibilities  of  e-commerce  entities  and specify the liabilities of marketplace and inventory e-commerce entities including provisions for consumer grievance redressal.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 18 of the  Consumer  Protection  Act,  2019,  has  issued  'Guidelines  for  Prevention  and  Regulation  of  Dark Patterns, 2023' on 30th November, 2023 for prevention and regulation of dark patterns listing 13 specified dark patterns identified in e-Commerce sector.

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