If money has just left your account because of a scam, the order of the next few steps matters more than anything else here. Do the first list now. The rest can wait until you have a complaint number.
What to do in the first hour after an online scam
- Call 1930. It's the toll-free National Cyber Crime Helpline, and the national cybercrime portal says any victim of financial cyber fraud can dial it. Keep the amount, the time and the transaction ID (UTR) in front of you before you call.
- Call your bank on a number you already trust. Use the number on your card, your passbook or the bank's own app, or search your bank on Sanchar Saathi's Trusted Contact Details page. Never use a number the scammer gave you. Ask the bank to block the card, UPI or net banking that was used, and write down the complaint number. RBI rules require banks to take fraud reports 24x7 and to let you object by replying to the transaction SMS or email alert (RBI, 2017).
- File on cybercrime.gov.in if 1930 didn't file it for you. Save the acknowledgement number. The steps are in the next section.
- Save the evidence before you block anyone. Screenshot the chat, the caller's number, the UPI ID, the payment link or website, and the bank SMS. The portal lists chat transcripts, a screenshot of the suspect's number, emails, web page links and online money transfer receipts as evidence.
- Send nothing more. Not a "release fee", not a "tax", not a "verification amount", even if the same people promise to return everything once you pay.
Lost no money, and only got a suspicious call, SMS or WhatsApp message? Report it on Chakshu on the Sanchar Saathi portal. Chakshu itself says that if you have already lost money, you should report at 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in instead.
How to file a cyber crime complaint online
The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal files online financial fraud under its "Report Other Cybercrimes" option. From the portal's own FAQ and checklist:
- Open cybercrime.gov.in and choose the option to report other cybercrimes.
- Register with your name and an Indian mobile number. The OTP you get is valid for 30 minutes.
- Fill in the money details the portal asks for: the name of the bank, wallet or merchant, the transaction ID or UTR number, the date of the transaction and the amount lost.
- Upload your evidence. Each file can be up to 10 MB.
- Submit. You get a complaint reference number by SMS and email.
- To follow up, log in to the portal and use "check status" with that number.
The police of the state concerned handle complaints from the portal, including turning them into FIRs, arresting people and closing cases (PIB, 28 July 2026). You can also ask your local police station for an FIR. Keep every number you're given, from 1930, the portal, the bank and the police. Every later step asks for them.
Can you get your money back after online fraud?
Sometimes. Mostly it depends on whether the money is still inside the banking system when your report arrives.
The Home Ministry's Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) runs the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS). It was set up in 2021 for immediate reporting of financial frauds and, in the ministry's words, "to stop siphoning off funds by the fraudsters". By 30 June 2026 it had saved more than Rs 11,158 crore in more than 32.80 lakh complaints, and 1,586 banks and other entities were connected to it (PIB, 28 July 2026).
Holding money is the first step. Getting it back to you is a second one:
- In January 2026 the Home Ministry issued a standard procedure for these complaints. It covers bank coordination, grievances, removing holds (lien markings) and returning defrauded money to the people it belongs to.
- A Money Restoration Module for returning money, and a Grievance Redressal Module for frozen accounts and held amounts, have worked since April 2026 (PIB, 28 July 2026).
- The Supreme Court has directed all High Courts to make sure the procedure is followed. By 17 June 2026 about one lakh people had benefited from the restoration and grievance mechanism, and about 94 lakh bank accounts from which money could be restored had been uploaded to it (PIB, 17 June 2026).
Speed matters because scam money moves fast. In one case the CBI described in September 2026, a man received Rs 1.95 crore in an account he had opened and sent it onward the same day. Once money has been withdrawn or passed through several accounts, there's less left to hold.
How long does the cyber cell take to refund money?
None of the official pages we checked gives a number of days, so be wary of anyone who quotes one. What you can do is keep the complaint moving: check its status on the portal, keep the bank and police complaint numbers together, and answer quickly when the police or the bank ask you for documents.
If your own account was frozen because scam money passed through it, that's a different problem. Our guide to the RBI's draft money mule rules covers it.
Will the bank refund it? What the RBI rules say
Your bank's duty depends on how the money left. The RBI's rules are about unauthorised electronic transactions, meaning ones you didn't authorise. For commercial banks, the rules first set out in the RBI's July 2017 circular apply to transactions made before 1 January 2027:
| What happened | Your loss |
|---|---|
| The bank was at fault (its fraud, negligence or deficiency) | Zero, whether or not you report it |
| A breach elsewhere in the system, reported within 3 working days | Zero |
| The same, reported in 4 to 7 working days | The transaction value or a cap, whichever is lower: Rs 10,000 for most savings accounts, Rs 5,000 for a basic (BSBD) account |
| The same, reported after 7 working days | Whatever the bank's board-approved policy says |
| You shared your OTP, PIN or password | The whole loss until you report it; the bank carries any loss after that |
The days are counted from when the bank's alert reached you, by your home branch's working days. Once you report, the bank must credit the disputed amount back to your account within 10 working days (a "shadow reversal") and settle the complaint within 90 days. Banks may also waive your liability, even where you were careless.
What changes from 1 January 2027
On 24 June 2026 the RBI issued revised directions for transactions made on or after 1 January 2027. They cover commercial banks other than small finance banks, payments banks, regional rural banks and local area banks.
- A "fraudulent" transaction will also include one the customer approves "under coercion or duress".
- For a breach elsewhere in the system, you lose nothing if you report within five calendar days.
- The bank has to prove that you're liable, and must answer a complaint within 45 calendar days (60 for a cross-border fraud).
- If the fraud happened because of your own negligence, you can claim a one-time compensation: 85% of the net loss or Rs 25,000, whichever is less. The gross loss must be up to Rs 50,000, the bank must accept the loss as genuine, and you must have reported it on 1930 or the cybercrime portal and to the bank within five calendar days. The bank pays within five calendar days of your application, and the scheme covers frauds in the first year after 1 January 2027.
So someone who loses Rs 20,000 after sharing an OTP in February 2027, recovers nothing, and reports within five days could be paid Rs 17,000. Someone who reports on day six couldn't.
Whichever case yours is, report it to the bank in writing and keep the complaint number. Every deadline above runs from that report.
If the bank doesn't help, complain to the RBI Ombudsman
The RBI's Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026, in force since 1 July 2026, looks at what the bank did, not at the scammer. It's free. According to the RBI's FAQ:
- Complain to the bank first and keep proof. The Ombudsman won't take a complaint without it.
- Wait 30 days for a reply, unless the bank replies sooner and you're unhappy with it.
- File on cms.rbi.org.in within 90 days from the end of that wait or from the bank's last message, whichever is later.
- Track the complaint on the same site with your complaint number and mobile number, or call the RBI contact centre on 14448. Its voice menu works 24x7; staff answer from 8 am to 10 pm, Monday to Saturday, except national holidays.
Online fraud ho jaye to kya kare? (हिंदी में)
ऑनलाइन फ्रॉड होने पर, छोटे में:
- तुरंत 1930 पर call करें। Transaction ID (UTR), तारीख और रकम पास रखें।
- अपने बैंक को उसके official number पर बताएं और card या UPI block कराएं। Complaint number लिख लें।
- cybercrime.gov.in पर शिकायत करें और acknowledgement number संभालकर रखें।
- किसी को block करने से पहले chat, number, UPI ID और payment के screenshot ले लें।
- बैंक 30 दिन में जवाब न दे, या जवाब ठीक न लगे, तो cms.rbi.org.in पर RBI Ombudsman में शिकायत करें। यह मुफ़्त है।
If the scam used your Aadhaar or PAN
Some scams don't end with the payment. If you sent the scammer a photo of your Aadhaar, PAN or another ID, or you later find a loan or SIM in your name that you never took, follow the free steps on ID misused: what to do: check the SIMs on your Aadhaar on Sanchar Saathi, pull your free credit reports, lock your Aadhaar biometrics, and write to the lender and the credit bureaus. The page also sells a Rs 299 kit of ready-to-fill letters for those steps. They are templates, not legal advice, and a letter doesn't remove an entry by itself.
Two common scripts have their own guides: the fake digital arrest call and the "money sent by mistake" UPI request. To practise spotting the next one, Scam ya Nahi? gives you five practice messages a day and explains the tell in each. NO SUS isn't part of any government body; the channels on this page are the official ones.