The Secretary of the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, chaired a comprehensive meeting in New Delhi today, addressing critical issues concerning cyber security in the financial services sector and the escalating incidents of online financial frauds.

The meeting, attended by various agencies such as the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Department of Revenue (DoR), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), and others, aimed to foster collaboration and share best practices to counter cyber-attacks and frauds.

Highlighting the gravity of the situation, the Indian Cyber Crime Co-ordination Center (I4C) presented the latest statistics on digital payment frauds reported through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP). Representatives from major banks, including State Bank of India (SBI), PayTM, and Razorpay, shared strategies and best practices that have proven effective in mitigating such frauds.

The meeting acknowledged the concerted efforts in disconnecting 70 lakh mobile connections associated with cybercrime and financial frauds reported through digital intelligence platforms. Additionally, it was revealed that Rs. 900 crore of defrauded money has been recovered, benefiting 3.5 lakh victims.

Several key issues were addressed during the deliberation, including the need for enhanced coordination between police, banks, and financial entities for real-time tracking and blocking of defrauded funds. The focus extended to bringing all financial institutions, including Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and major cooperative banks, onto the 'Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS)' platform.

Strategies were devised to combat the proliferation of mule accounts, improve response times in handling alerts on online financial frauds, appoint regional/state-level nodal officers, maintain a central registry of merchant onboarding, standardize Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, and whitelist digital lending apps through stakeholder consultation.

The meeting concluded with an emphasis on implementing recommendations from the Digital Lending Working Group, including the establishment of the Digital India Trust Agency (DIGITA) and the introduction of the 'Banning of Unregulated Lending Activities (BULA) Act.' Stakeholders were encouraged to conduct more customer awareness and sensitization programs on digital payment security.