Helpline 1930

 #Helpline1930

Mr. Dikshit was quite happy today. Few minutes back, a message had come from the bank that his pension money had been deposited. He had promised to get a laptop for his granddaughter, Sumedha, who graduated with good marks. Suddenly his mobile phone rang. An unknown number flashed on the screen. He picked up the phone.

"Good evening, sir! I am speaking from BSNL office ."

"Yes ..."

"Sir, your KYC update is pending. This is a reminder call for the same..."

"Please call tomorrow ... I'm in a hurry now ..."

"Sir, today is the last date ... if KYC is not updated then your mobile phone service will be shut down from tomorrow. It will take only two minutes Sir"

"Okay ... what should I do?"

Fearing that his mobile phone would be switched off, Mr Dikshit decided to update KYC.

"You will receive an SMS with a link. Click the link to open a form. You will have to fill the form. I will keep myself on the line, do you see the SMS?"

He checked the messages as she continued talking. An SMS with the name BZ-BXNLKC has been received.

"Yeah ...I got the message."

He told the caller on the other side.

"OK ... it will have a link, open it."

He clicked the link in the SMS. A form opened. His full name, address and Aadhar card number were to be entered in it.

After filling the form, a button at the bottom is activated with the label, Submit & Pay.

"It looks like a button below ... It says Submit & Pay ... What is it for?"

"Sir, your form will be submitted. You only have to pay ten rupees late charges. Click the button for that."

Without much thought, Mr Dikshit clicked that button. At the click of the button, options like Net Banking, Debit Card, Credit Card and UPI came up. He opted for net banking.

He paid ten rupees by entering the customer ID and password

"Thank you, sir! Now your KYC is updated. Thank you for giving us your precious time."

With that, she hung up the phone.

 

Mr Dikshit received a notification, a message saying two lakhs had been debited from his bank account flashed. His hands started trembling. A total of two lakhs were withdrawn, one and a half lakhs deposited in the bank earlier and fifty thousand of the present pension money.

In a shaky voice, he called out to Sumedha. She came running to his room.

"What happened, Grandpa? Are you okay?"

He told her what had happened.

 

Some days back, she read somewhere that the Home Ministry of the Government of India had recently launched a helpline number for reporting financial cyber-crime. But she did not remember the exact number. She immediately found the number on the internet. It’s 1930.

Taking Mr Dikshit’s bank passbook, she dialled the number. After dialling three or four times, she got connected. The official, speaking from the other side, asked Mr Dikshit's full name, his bank account details,  the exact time and how much money was withdrawn. Sumedha gave the required information.

Shortly, A message appeared on Mr Dikshit's phone from the helpline. It had a unique ticket number for the complaint. The message directed that a complaint be lodged on the cyber-crime portal using this ticket number.

Similarly, Sumedha opened the portal https://cybercrime.gov.in from her mobile, filled in all the details and registered the complaint by entering the unique ticket number from the helpline.

All the money, which was taken away by the cyber thief, was credited back to Mr Dikshit’s account within three days.

The Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India has started the helpline 1930 in 2020 to investigate financial cyber-crimes. This helpline is attached to the portal https://cybercrime.gov.in. The helpline operates 24 * 7 in the states and Union Territories of Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. In the rest of the states and union territories, the helpline is open from 10am to 6pm. Most of the banks, some large business merchants and wallets are connected through this helpline.

 

How does the helpline work?

 

A person who has been financially defrauded will only need to dial the helpline 1930. After that, a police operator will record the details of the fraudulent transaction and the basic personal information of the deceived person.

 

These details will then be submitted in the form of a ticket to the Citizen Financial Cyber ​​Fraud Reporting and Management System.

 

Using the information from the victim's bank, the ticket will be sent to the concerned banks, wallets, merchants, etc., depending on the bank / wallet in which the fraudulent money has gone.

 

Acknowledgment of complaint along with number will be sent to the victim in the form of SMS. The National Cyber ​​Crime Reporting Portal (https://cybercrime.gov.in/) will also contain instructions to submit the full details of the fraud using the receipt number within 24 hours.

 

The concerned bank will see the ticket on the dashboard of the reporting portal. Accordingly, it can check the transaction details in the banking system.

 

If the fraudulent money is still available, the bank puts it on hold, meaning the fraudster cannot withdraw the money. However, if the fraudulent money has gone to another bank, the same ticket is forwarded to the next bank in which the money has gone.

 

The process is repeated until the money is saved from falling into the hands of the fraudsters.

 

In today's digital age, this helpline is a great boon for victims of cyber thieves. If this helpline is used immediately after the crime has been committed, the loss can be avoided.

 

Usually, victims of financial cyber-crime waste their valuable time in closing bank accounts and visiting police stations. Until then, cyber thieves have disappeared with their money.

 

Even if for some reason this helpline cannot be used, the victim should immediately file FIR and submit its copy to the corresponding bank, within three working days.

If this is done, the bank has to repay the stolen money within 90 days as per the order of RBI to all the banks. If the bank does not return the money, the defrauded person can also appeal to the consumer court.

 

Stay safe and alert and make use of technology with care.

 

©Kavita Datar