India's Cyber Crime Coordination Center (I4C) has blocked 1,700 Skype IDs and over 59,000 WhatsApp accounts for digital fraud. This information was informed in the Lok Sabha last Tuesday. This initiative by the Center under the Ministry of Home Affairs is being considered as an important step against cyber crime.
Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar also said that the 'Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System' launched in 2021 under I4C provides an opportunity to report financial fraud immediately. This prevents fraudsters from withdrawing money quickly. 3 thousand 431 crore rupees have been secured so far based on more than 9 lakh complaints.
In response to a written query, Kumar said, 'I4C has identified and blocked over 1,700 Skype IDs and over 59,000 WhatsApp accounts actively used for digital fraud.
According to the report of the police authorities, the Government of India has blocked more than 669 thousand SIM cards and 132 thousand IMEI till November 15, 2024.
This service allows citizens to use the 'Suspect Search' option. Through this, citizens can search I4C's database identifying cybercriminals.
The Minister also explained that the Central Government and Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have developed a system to strengthen the system to combat cyber crime, especially digital fraud. This system detects and blocks international fake calls, which show Indian mobile numbers, but actually originate from abroad.
Recently, cybercriminals have used international fake calls to impersonate government or police officials in some cases, such as fake digital piracy, FedEx scams, Kumar noted.
Besides, Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have been instructed to block such fake calls. Besides this, a state-of-the-art Cyber Fraud Prevention Center (CFMC) has been established at I4C. It brings together representatives of major banks, financial institutions, payment systems, TCPS, IT intermediaries and state and union territory law enforcement agencies to ensure swift action and cooperation in combating cybercrime.
The minister said on September 10, 2024, the I4C launched a suspect registry of cybercriminals' identification information, developed jointly with banks and financial institutions. Apart from this, a new feature called 'Report and Check Suspect' has been launched on India's cybercrime website.
