Centre launches helpline for reporting cyber fraud

The Centre on Tuesday launched a new helpline number for reporting cyber fraud. The new number- 155260- can be used to lodge a complaint in addition to the Cyber Crime Portal.

"The helpline number has been prominently published on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) portal. A banner link is also provided to directly lodge any complaint on the Cyber Crime Portal," Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Leena Nandan, said.

Both the helpline and the prominent display of the link to lodge cybercrime complaints are endeavours of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) under the Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

Earlier, the NCH had received regular complaints of cyber fraud. So the Department of Consumer Affairs collaborated with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (14C), Ministry of Home Affairs, seeking to redress cyber fraud complaints.

Advocacy resources to raise awareness on cyber fraud, including preventive measures for safeguarding against common cyber frauds like financial fraud, job fraud and matrimonial frauds, have also been published on the NCH platform. A 'Knowledge base on Digital Payments' providing FAQs for various modes of digital payment like BHIM, Bharat QR, IMPS, Debit cards etc provided by the National Payments Corporation of India has also been published on the platform.

"NPCI has also started an online dispute resolution system for UPI complaints," Nandan said.

"Our Department is collaboratively working with stakeholders, including TRAI, NPCI and I4C to protect consumers from cyber frauds and safeguard consumer rights. We have held the first meeting in September. With inputs from stakeholders, our operations will be even smoother," Nandan said.

Furthermore, number outreach and publicity activities have been taken up to make consumers aware of their rights, the consumer protection laws and to make them cautious of unfair trade practices. The department's prime focus is on popularising the helpline and educating consumers on how to file a complaint. The Department's JaagoGraahakJaago tag line is popular countrywide.