With the rapid rise in cybercrime, including digital arrests, the Finance Ministry has included the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) in the list of agencies with which the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is permitted to share information under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
I4C, which functions under the Home Ministry, addresses cybercrime in a coordinated and comprehensive manner. It will be the 27th entity authorised for data sharing under Section 66 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. Other entities include SEBI, RBI, CCI, SFIO, GST Council and others.
Section 66 deals with the disclosure of information and empowers the head of the ED to share information to initiate action for contravention of various laws.
I4C acts as a nodal point to curb cybercrime in the country. It works to strengthen efforts against cybercrimes committed against women and children. It facilitates easy filing of cybercrime-related complaints and helps identify cybercrime trends and patterns.
I4C also acts as an early warning system for law enforcement agencies to enable proactive cybercrime prevention and detection. It promotes public awareness about preventing cybercrimes and assists States/UTs in building the capacity of police officers, public prosecutors, and judicial officers in areas such as cyber forensics, investigation, cyber hygiene, and cyber-criminology.
While the States/UTs are primarily responsible for the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of crimes, including cybercrime and digital arrest scams, through their law enforcement agencies (LEAs), the Central government supports these efforts through advisories and financial assistance under various capacity-building schemes for LEAs.
The issue of digital arrest scams gained further importance when Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed it in his monthly radio broadcast last October.
To date, there is no comprehensive data on digital arrest scams; however, a nationwide campaign has been initiated. In collaboration with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), I4C has launched a caller tune campaign to raise awareness about cybercrime and promote the Cyber Crime Helpline Number 1930 and the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP). The caller tune is being broadcast in regional languages, delivered 7-8 times a day by Telecom Service Providers (TSPs).
I4C proactively identifies and blocks more than 3,962 Skype IDs and 83,668 WhatsApp accounts used for digital arrests. Simultaneously, the Central government and TSPs have developed a system to identify and block incoming international spoofed calls displaying Indian mobile numbers, which appear to originate within India. Directions have been issued to TSPs for the blocking of such incoming international spoofed calls.
According to a written reply by the Minister of State in the Home Ministry, B Sanjay Kumar, as of February 28, 2025, more than 7.81 lakh SIM cards and 2,08,469 IMEIs, as reported by police authorities, have been blocked.
The ‘Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System’, under I4C, was launched in 2021 to enable immediate reporting of financial frauds and prevent the siphoning off of funds by fraudsters. So far, according to the government, more than ₹4,386 crore has been saved across over 1.336 million complaints. A toll-free helpline number, ‘1930’, has been made operational to assist with lodging online cyber complaints.
Published on April 27, 2025
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