The National Cyber Crime Helpline (1930) and cybercrime.gov.in can freeze the receiver bank account before the fraudster withdraws. Every minute counts.
1930Free • 24×7 • Operates in all major Indian languages
The first 60 minutes after the fraud are the only window in which banks can usually reverse the transaction. Once the money leaves the receiver account, recovery becomes extremely hard.
The operator will note the transaction ID, sender bank, receiver bank, and amount. They route the freeze request to the receiver bank within minutes.
Tap to call 1930Use the number printed on the back of your debit/credit card (not the one in a suspicious SMS). Block all cards, change UPI PIN, change internet-banking password, and disable any auto-debits you do not recognise.
Never share OTPs, CVV, or PIN — even with someone claiming to be from your bank or the police.
Save these before the apps auto-delete them: bank SMS / email confirmation, UPI app transaction page, fraudster's phone number / WhatsApp profile / email, any chat screenshots, the website URL or app name where it happened, your call log showing time of the fraud call.
The 1930 phone call alone is not enough — within 24 hours you must also lodge a written complaint at the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. This is what triggers actual investigation by the local cyber-cell.
Open cybercrime.gov.inCarry your evidence pack + the 1930 acknowledgement number + the cybercrime.gov.in complaint reference. Police are legally required to register a 'Zero FIR' even if the fraudster is in another state — insist on it.
If KYC documents (Aadhaar / PAN) were shared with the fraudster: lock your Aadhaar biometrics at uidai.gov.in, raise a credit-freeze with CIBIL / Experian / Equifax, and report to the RBI Sachet portal (sachet.rbi.org.in) for any unlicensed lending or investment scam.
Knowing the category helps the cyber-cell investigator. Select the closest match when filing at cybercrime.gov.in.
After the first scam, fraudsters often call back posing as 'police / cyber-cell / RBI recovery agent' offering to recover the lost money for a fee. This is a second scam. The real 1930 / cybercrime.gov.in / police will NEVER: