Parliament Question: Misleading Mobile Applications

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3751 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 11TH AUGUST, 2026/ SHRAVANA 20, 1948 (SAKA) Misleading Mobile Applications

3751. Shri P C Mohan:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) the steps taken by the Government to identify and curb illicit, fraudulent and misleading mobile applications, including loan apps, used to defraud citizens, and the number of such apps blocked or removed during the last two years;

(b) the coordination mechanism between this Ministry, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Reserve Bank of India and the Department of Telecommunications in this regard;

(c) the outcomes achieved through platforms such as the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, helpline 1930, Sanchar Saathi and Chakshu, including the amount of money saved for citizens; and

(d) the awareness campaigns being conducted to educate citizens on identifying and reporting fraudulent apps and cyber fraud? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI BANDI SANJAY KUMAR)-2- L.S.US.Q.NO. 3751 FOR 11.08.2026

(a) to (d) :

The Ministry of Home Affairs has set up the ‘Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre’ (I4C) as an attached office to deal with all types of cyber crimes in the country, in a coordinated and comprehensive manner.

The ‘National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal’ (NCRP) (https://cybercrime.gov.in) has been launched, as a part of the I4C, to enable public to report incidents pertaining to all types of cyber crimes, with special focus on cyber crimes against women and children.

‘Sahyog’ Portal has been launched to expedite the process of sending notices to IT intermediaries by the Appropriate Government or its agency under clause (b) of sub-section (3) of section 79 of the IT Act, 2000 to facilitate the removal or disabling of access to any information, data or communication link being used to commit an unlawful act. Till 30.06.2026, a total of 3718 mobile apps including fraudulent loan apps have been blocked by I4C under Section 69(A), Section 79(3)(b) of IT Act 2000.

The ‘Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System’

(CFCFRMS), under I4C, has been launched in year 2021 for immediate reporting of financial frauds and to stop siphoning off funds by the fraudsters. As per CFCFRMS operated by I4C, till 30.06.2026, financial amount of more than Rs. 11,158 Crore has been saved in more than 32.80 lakh complaints.-3- L.S.US.Q.NO. 3751 FOR 11.08.2026 A Suspect Registry of identifiers of cyber criminals has been launched by I4C on 10.09.2024 in collaboration with Banks/Financial Institutions. Till

30.06.2026, more than 30.48 lakh suspect identifier data received from Banks and 32.08 lakh Layer 1 mule accounts have been shared with the participating entities of Suspect Registry and declined transactions worth Rs. 25,698 crores. Till 30.06.2026, more than 15.75 lakhs SIM cards and 5.77 lakhs IMEIs as reported by Police authorities have been blocked by Government of India.

To strengthen the operational efficiency and ensure uniformity in handling cybercrime complaints, the Ministry has issued a comprehensive Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for NCRP-CFCFRMS. The SOP lays down a standardized framework for complaint processing, bank coordination, grievance redressal, removal of lien markings, and restoration of defrauded funds to rightful claimants based on complaints received through the NCRP. Money Restoration Module for expeditious restoration of defrauded money to the victims and Grievance Redressal Module for timely attending to the grievances relating to freezing of the bank accounts and lien marking of the amount, have been made functional from April, 2026.

To further spread awareness on cyber crime, the Central Government has taken steps which, inter-alia, include; caller tune campaign,-4- L.S.US.Q.NO. 3751 FOR 11.08.2026 dissemination of messages through SMS, I4C social media account i.e. X (formerly Twitter) (@CyberDost), Facebook(CyberDostI4C), Instagram

(CyberDostI4C), Telegram(cyberdosti4c), SMS campaign, TV campaign, Radio campaign, School Campaign, advertisement in cinema halls, celebrity endorsement, IPL campaign, engaged MyGov for publicity in multiple mediums, organizing Cyber Safety and Security Awareness weeks in association with States/UTs, publishing of Handbook for Adolescents/Students, digital displays on railway stations and airports across, etc.

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