Learn everything about filing a Complaint against Fraud in India

If you or any of your family members or friends have been a victim of fraud then you should know about the procedures for filing a complaint related to different frauds in India. So, let’s move towards understanding different types of fraud and reporting them to the government of India.

What is a Fraud?

Fraud is defined under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code. This word is a synonym for cheating and fraud because it is associated with crime and colloquially for depicting someone as a crooked person or a thief.

The wording of Section 420 runs as the act of cheating and the dishonest inducement to deliver any property or to make, alter or destroy any part or whole of a valuable security or anything which is signed, sealed or capable of being converted into a valuable security. Also, the person guilty under this section will be punished with a fine or imprisonment that may extend upto seven years.

What are the Essential Elements of Fraud?

As we all know nowadays frauds are usually done online and if we look at the types of fraud which have been discussed below) are also done online only. The essential elements of the offence of fraud are:

• Unlawful Intention: The first and most essential ingredient of the office of fraud is the fraudster having untrue or deceitful assertion

• Full Knowledge: The act was done with the full knowledge and intention of the fraudster.

• Intention: The fraudster should have the intention to mislead the recipient by making the misleading false intention.

• The act should have done Harm: The act of the fraudster should have made the complainant hand over or refrain or undertake something which he would have not done in the normal course of action.

What are the common types of Fraud?

• Credit/Debit Card Fraud: Sometimes money is withdrawn from the credit card or some shopping is done after stealing all its credentials. Also, sometimes emails, texts or calls are done to steal the personal Information.

• UPI fraud: In this scam, the scammer sends an amount of the money to the award of the victim citing a mistake and thereby requesting a payback if the victim pays back the amount the malware gives the scammer access to the full data of the victim.

• Phishing: With this scam, the scammer attempts to get access to the confidential information of the victim. This scam can be attempted through either email, text or message.

• Emails: Emails with a link are sent to the account of the victims providing different enchanting either loan, vacation or other benefits. As soon as the victim clicks on the link their personal information can be accessed by the scammer.

• Identity thefts: With identity theft, the personal information of the victim can be used for illegal or immoral purposes.

• Online Shopping Fraud: Sometimes scammers provide lucrative deals to the victims and victims fall prey to these also sometimes the victims order some goods by falling into the misrepresentation of the advertising companies.

• ATM Card Fraud: The scammers fit a fake device and hard disk in the ATM to obtain the card details day with its pin.

Therefore, frauds are categorised into three different categories namely cyber frauds, bank frauds and customer frauds.

How to file a complaint for Cyber Crime Fraud?

National Cybercrime Reporting Portal

The National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) was launched by the government of India under 14C on 30.08.2019. The earlier portal Cybercrime Reporting Portal under the CCPWC scheme only enables the filing of cyber complaints pertaining to child pornography/rape or gang rape. However, with the introduction of the NCRP, all the types of cyber crimes can be reported.

The features of NCRP

• With the help of this porta, all the types of cyber complaints can be filed from anywhere
• The portal places a special focus on the reporting of content related to child sex abuse material / rape-gang
• Different types of monitoring dashboards at the national, state or district level have been created.
• The portal provides easy online status tracking of the complaint for the complainant.
• Various cyber volunteers are registered as cyber awareness promoters.
• An automated chatbot with the name vani-cyber dost chatbot has been created under the NCRP this chatbot has pre-defined features.
• Under the portal, a new module named “Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System” has been added in the portal which connects with 85 banks/payment intermediaries and wallets, with the backend portal of the cybercrime. With the help of this citizens can report cyber financial fraud on the national Helpline number – 1930
• The number 1930 is running on all the states /UT.

Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS)

In order to deal with the complex subject of financial fraud it was in need of the hour to create a common integrated platform where all the parties ( government stakeholders) such as RBI, law enforcement agencies, banks, financial intermediaries, NPCI and payment wallets to work collectively to prevent the flow of money to the fraudsters from the innocent public. This system’s main work is quickly reporting cyber financial frauds due to the use of payment intermediaries, credit cards, debit cards, UPI digital banking, etc. Complaints on this system can be filed through the national cyber crime reporting portal or by calling the helpline number 1930.

Steps of filing the complaint for Fraud 

• Visiting the Report Cyber Crime Portal: The first step in the process is to visit the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP).

• Selecting the Relevant Option: The next step is to select the file a complaint option and then click upon the I accept tab.

• Selecting New User Option: After selecting the filing a complaint option the aggrieved person or the complainant is required to click here for new user and then file the details. After filing the mobile number an OTP will generated then the OTP will be required to be filled and then enter the captcha and lastly click on the submit button.

• Filing the Personal Details: After clicking upon the submit button the login page will open up and the complainant is required to fill in their personal details and lastly click upon the “save and continue” option.

• Fill out all the Parts of the Form: The complaint Form will appear and it consists of 4 parts which are incident details, suspect details, complaint details and submission. After filling in all the relevant information in these particular forms the complainant is required to review each of the filed details and then lastly submit the form.

• Submission of the  Complaint: As soon as the complainant clicks upon the submit form an acknowledgement number is generated for the purpose of tracking it.

The process of Tracking the Complaint

• Login to the Portal: The first step in tracking the complaint is to visit the national cybercrime reporting portal and then click on the Track Your Complaint tab.

• Entering the acknowledgement number: The next step in the process is to enter the acknowledgement member.

• Entering the OTP: As soon as the acknowledgement number is entered an OTP will be generated on the registered mobile number which is required to be entered into.

• Getting the status of the complaint: As soon as the OTP is entered on the portal the status of the complaint can be traced.

Filing Fraud Complaint Offline in India

• Apart from filing the cybercrime complaint online, the complainant is required to file a written complaint in the nearest cybercrime cell in the case of online Fraud and the nearest police station in any other kind of Fraud. Though there is no specific format for filing the complaint the complaint must include the below-mentioned points.

• The complaint is required to be addressed to the head of the cybercrime cell or the official in charge of the Police Station where the Fraud has been committed (the whole process is discussed below).

• The complaint is required to be accompanied by the contact details of the complainant and the fraud, their name, mailing address and the relevant documents as evidence.

Filing an Offline Complaint under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code

Filing the complaint for any kind of fraud to the nearest police station involves the below-mentioned steps:

• Drafting the Complaint: For making a complaint related to fraud under Section 420 of IPC the complainant is required to file a written complaint to the nearest police station. the key points that a complaint must include are the personal details of the complainant, the details of the accused, the date, time and place of the fraud the intentional nature of the fraud, evidence supporting the claim and the loss or damage caused due to the grand.

• Filing the Complaint: The complainant is required to make a visit to the nearest police station requesting the lodging of the fir section 420 of IPC.

Filing a Complaint about Online Shopping Fraud in the Consumer Court 

• Using Website’s Redressal Mechanism: The first step in the case of an online shopping fraud is to connect with the platform itself and then request a redressal of the same. 

• Filing the Complaint with INGRAM: If the platform’s redressal mechanism system has failed the complaint/victim is required to file a complaint with the government grievance redressal mechanism: INGRAM or the consumer’s platform – Jago Grahak Jago developed by the government of India or in case of the faster disposal to file a complaint under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 to the relevant commission as per the pecuniary amount of the transaction. 

Tabular Representation of the Crimes and the Relevant Authorities for Filing the Complaints 

Type of Fraud	Regulatory Authority
Housing Finance Companies	National Housing Bank (NHB)- GRIDS
Mutual Funds, Stock Brokers, Collective Investment Scheme	Securities and Exchange Board of India SCORES (SEBI)
Insurance Companies	Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA)
Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), All Commercial Banks, Payment System Participants and Credit Information Companies	Reserve Bank of India
Cybercrimes, which also include online financial fraud	National Cybercrime Reporting Portal or by lodging the complaint after calling the National Helpline No- 1930
Pension Schemes	Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority

Conclusion

Fraud is a condition that is prevailing as a cancer in society and keeps growing with the passage of time and even fraudsters are finding different ways day by day to commit fraud. The government with this initiative has tried to make the process of filing complaints easy and convenient even in the comfort of your home.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How do I complain about fraud in India?

Ans1. For filing complaints other than cyber complaints the local police of the region is required to be contacted.

Q2. Can I report fraud to the police in India?

Ans2. Yes, any kind type of fraud can be reported to the police in India.

Q3. Can I file a cyber crime complaint online in India?

Ans3. Yes, cyber crimes can be filed with the national cyber crime reporting portal.

Q4. Can you go to jail for fraud in India?

Ans4. Yes, if the fraud involves the question of public interest then imprisonment of three years can be granted 

Q5. How to get money back from a scammer? 

Ans5. To obtain the money-back contact is required to be made with either the bank or the company stating the fraudulent nature of the transaction and thereby reversing it 

Q6. Is 1930 available for 24 hours?

Ans6. Yes, number 1930 is available for 24 hours 

Q7. Can I file a police report online in India?

Ans7. Yes, a police report can be filed online on the portal Digital Police Citizen Services

Q8. Will my bank refund me if I get scammed? 

Ans8. No, banks are not liable to return the scammed money but can educate the consumers about it 

Q9. What happens after calling 1930?

Ans9. A cyber complaint is usually recorded after calling this number. The application will then be completed after logging in to the online portal.

Q10. What is zero FIR? 

Ans10. In the case of a zero FIR, an FIR is filed irrespective of the place or the jurisdiction of the police station.