Government blocks 1,700 Skype and 59,000 WhatsApp IDs in 'digital arrest' fraud crackdown

In a significant crackdown on digital fraud, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has identified and blocked over 1,700 Skype IDs and 59,000 WhatsApp accounts used for fraudulent activities, as informed by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System, launched under I4C in 2021, has been instrumental in this effort. This system allows for the immediate reporting of financial frauds, thereby preventing fraudsters from siphoning off funds. To date, the system has saved over Rs 3,431 crore in more than 9.94 lakh complaints.

As of November 15, 2024, the government has blocked more than 6.69 lakh SIM cards and 1.32 lakh IMEIs, based on reports from police authorities. This proactive measure aims to curb the misuse of telecommunications for fraudulent purposes.

To further strengthen the fight against cyber crimes, the central government and Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have developed a system to identify and block incoming international spoofed calls that display Indian mobile numbers, making them appear as though they originate within India. These spoofed calls have been frequently used in scams such as fake digital arrests, FedEx scams, and impersonation of government or police officials.

The minister also mentioned that directions have been issued to TSPs to block such incoming international spoofed calls. Additionally, a State-of-the-Art Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre (CFMC) has been established at I4C. This centre brings together representatives from major banks, financial institutions, payment aggregators, TSPs, IT intermediaries, and law enforcement agencies from States and UTs to ensure immediate action and seamless cooperation in tackling cybercrime.

In a new initiative to enhance the identification of cyber criminals, I4C, in collaboration with banks and financial institutions, launched a suspect registry on September 10, 2024. This registry includes identifiers of known cyber criminals and features a 'Report and Check Suspect' option on the portal cybercrime.gov.in, allowing citizens to search I4C's repository of cyber criminal identifiers.