Lok Sabha Question No. 1962 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-11
Subject: Circulation of Fraudulent Financial Schemes on Social Media
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Dr. Mohammad Jawed

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1962

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 11.02.2026

## CIRCULATION OF FRAUDULENT FINANCIAL SCHEMES ON SOCIAL MEDIA

## 1962.  DR. MOHAMMAD JAWED:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware that a large number of videos circulating on social media platforms are propagating fraudulent financial schemes and misleading social narratives;
- (b) if so, the details of steps taken by the Government to regulate, monitor and curb the dissemination of such content;
- (c) the number of persons who have been booked, charged or prosecuted in connection with such cases during the last three years, year and State/UT-wise; and
- (d) the policy framework or action plan proposed by the Government to effectively prevent the spread of such fraudulent and misleading videos on social media platforms?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA)

(a) to (d): The policies of Government  of India are aimed at ensuring open, safe, trusted and accountable cyberspace for users in the country. The Government is cognizant of the risks and harms arising from the misuse of digital technologies including the misuse of social media platforms.

The Information Technology Act, 2000 ('IT Act') has provisions for removal of unlawful online content. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 ('IT Rules'), require  that  the  intermediaries  ,  which  includes  social  media  platforms,  shall  observe  due  diligence  while discharging their duties and shall inform the users of computer resources not to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, update or share any information that deceives or misleads the addressee about the origin of message or knowingly and intentionally communicates any misinformation or information that is patently false and untrue or misleading in nature or is unlawful in any way.

Where any information falls within the categories prohibited under this Rule, any user may make a request to the Grievance Officer of the concerned intermediary on whose platform such unlawful information is made available to the public. Upon receipt of such request, the intermediary must act expeditiously within the timelines prescribed under IT Rules, 2021. In case the user is aggrieved by the decision of an intermediary's Grievance Officer or does not receive timely redressal, user may prefer an appeal to the Grievance Appellate Committee within thirty days of the receipt of communication from the Grievance Officer.

Section  79  of  the  Information  Technology  Act  provides  that  intermediaries  are  required  to  disable/remove unlawful content through a court order or on being notified by appropriate government or its agency. In case of failure to observe due diligence as provided in the IT Rules, intermediaries lose the exemption from liability for any third-party information, data or communication link, under section 79 of the IT Act.

MeitY 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 relevant awareness material.

As  per  records  maintained  by  NCRB,  the  State/UT-wise  cases  registered,  cases  charge  sheeted,  and  cases convicted under fake  news  on social media for cybercrimes (involving communication  devices as medium/target) during 2021- 2023 is placed in Annexure I.

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## Annexure - I

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| SL                        | CR State/UT   |         |              |              | News on Social Media under   | News on Social Media under   | News on Social Media under   | News on Social Media under   | News on Social Media under   | News on Social Media under   | News on Social Media under   | Cyber Crimes during 2021-2023   | Cyber Crimes during 2021-2023   | Cyber Crimes during 2021-2023   | Cyber Crimes during 2021-2023   | Cyber Crimes during 2021-2023   | Cyber Crimes during 2021-2023   |
|---------------------------|---------------|---------|--------------|--------------|------------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
| SL                        | CR State/UT   | CCS     | CON PAR 2021 | CON PAR 2021 | PCV CR                       |                              | CCS                          | CON 2022                     | PAR                          | PCS                          | PCV                          | CR                              | CCS                             | CON 2023                        | PAR                             | PCS                             | PCV                             |
| 1 Andhra Pradesh          | 14            | 18      | 0            | 16           | 0                            | 15                           | 10                           | 1                            | 11                           | 11                           | 1                            | 24                              | 15                              | 0                               | 21                              | 23                              | 0                               |
| 2 Arunachal Pradesh       | 0             | 0       | 0            | 0            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 3 Assam                   | 5             | 1       | 0            | 5            | 0                            | 3                            | 1                            | 0                            | 5                            | 1                            | 0                            | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 4 Bihar                   | 3             | 2       | 0            | 2            | 0                            | 2                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 14                              | 3                               | 0                               | 2                               | 3                               | 0                               |
| 5 Chhattisgarh            | 1             | 1       | 0            | 1            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 6 Goa                     | 0             | 0       | 0            | 0            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 7 Gujarat                 | 2             | 7       | 0            | 6            | 0                            | 1                            | 1                            | 0                            | 4                            | 4                            | 0                            | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 8 Haryana                 | 0             | 0       | 0            | 0            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 9 Himachal Pradesh        | 0             | 0       | 0            | 0            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0 0                          |                                 | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 10 Jharkhand              | 0             | 0       | 0            | 0            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 11 Karnataka              | 0             | 0       | 0            | 0            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 4                               | 1                               | 0                               | 1                               | 1                               | 0                               |
| 12 Kerala                 |               | 0 0     | 0            | 0            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 13 Madhya Pradesh         | 6             | 7       | 0            | 8            | 0                            | 15                           | 14                           | 0                            | 16                           | 14                           | 0                            | 4                               | 3                               | 0                               | 0                               | 3                               | 0                               |
| 14 Maharashtra            | 15            | 12      | 0            | 12           | 0                            | 23                           | 3                            | 0                            | 4                            | 3                            | 0                            | 10                              | 1                               | 0                               | 0                               | 1                               | 0                               |
| 15 Manipur                | 1             | 0       | 0            | 1            | 0                            | 1                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 16 Meghalaya              | 0             | 0       | 0            | 0            | 0                            | 1                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 1                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 17 Mizoram                | 1             | 0       | 0            | 1            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 18 Nagaland               | 0             | 0       | 0            | 0            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 19 Odisha                 | 0             | 0       | 0            | 0            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 20 Punjab                 | 0             | 0       | 0            | 0            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                               | 1                               | 0                               | 0                               | 1                               | 0                               |
| 21 Rajasthan              | 7             | 5       | 0            | 5            | 0                            | 5                            | 2                            | 0                            | 3                            | 3                            | 0                            | 1                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 22 Sikkim                 | 0             | 0       | 0            | 0            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 23 Tamil Nadu             | 23            | 6       | 0            | 11           | 0                            | 37                           | 7                            | 0                            | 55                           | 40                           | 0                            | 35                              | 10                              | 4                               | 23                              | 14                              | 4                               |
| 24 Telangana              | 34            | 50      | 0            | 29           | 0                            | 81                           | 45                           | 0                            | 17                           | 52                           | 0                            | 98                              | 33                              | 7                               | 31                              | 39                              | 7                               |
| 25 Tripura                | 0             | 0       | 0            | 0            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 26 Uttar Pradesh          |               | 24      | 0            | 27           | 0                            | 36                           | 36                           | 30                           | 51                           | 51                           | 30                           | 11                              | 8                               | 0                               | 12                              | 11                              | 0                               |
| 27 Uttarakhand            | 0             | 16 0    | 0            | 0            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 28 West Bengal            | 43            | 23      | 0            | 21           |                              | 10                           | 8                            | 0                            | 12                           | 10                           | 0                            | 7                               | 7                               | 0                               | 8                               | 11                              | 0                               |
| TOTAL STATE(S)            | 179           | 148     | 0            | 145          | 0 0                          | 230                          | 127                          | 31                           | 178                          | 189                          | 31                           | 209                             | 82                              | 11                              | 98                              | 107                             | 11                              |
| 29 A&N Islands            | 0             |         | 0            | 0            |                              |                              | 0                            | 0                            |                              | 0                            | 0                            | 0                               |                                 | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
|                           |               | 0       | 0            | 0            | 0                            | 0                            |                              |                              | 0                            |                              |                              |                                 | 0                               |                                 |                                 |                                 |                                 |
| 30 Chandigarh             | 0             | 0       |              |              | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 31 D&N Haveli and Daman   | & Diu 0       | 0       | 0            | 0            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| 32 Delhi                  | 0             | 0       | 0            | 0            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |                                 | 0                               |                                 |
| 33 Jammu & Kashmir        | 0             | 0       | 0            |              |                              | 0                            | 1                            | 0                            | 1                            | 1                            | 0                            | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               | 0                               |
| Ladakh                    | 0             |         |              | 0            | 0                            |                              |                              |                              |                              |                              |                              |                                 |                                 |                                 | 0                               | 0                               | 0 0                             |
| 34                        |               | 0 0     | 0            | 0            | 0                            | 0 0                          | 0 0                          | 0                            | 0                            | 0                            | 0 0                          | 0                               | 0 0                             | 0 0                             | 0                               | 0                               | 0 0                             |
| 35 Lakshadweep            |               | 0 0 0   | 0            | 0            | 0 0                          | 0                            | 0                            | 0 0                          | 0                            | 0                            | 0 0                          | 0                               | 0 0                             | 0 0                             | 0 0                             | 0 0                             | 0                               |
| 36 Puducherry TOTAL UT(S) |               | 0 0     | 0 0          | 0 0          | 0 0                          | 0 230                        | 1 128                        | 0                            | 0 1                          | 0 1                          | 0 0                          |                                 |                                 | 11                              | 0 98                            | 107                             |                                 |
| TOTAL (ALL INDIA)         |               | 179 148 | 0            | 145          |                              |                              |                              | 31                           | 179                          | 190                          | 31 209                       |                                 | 82                              |                                 |                                 |                                 | 11                              |

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