Scammed, or not sure? Start here.

The first hour, in detail

1 · You lost money: call 1930

Call 1930, the national cyber fraud helpline, as soon as you can. The call puts your complaint into the system that links the police with banks and payment companies, so money still sitting in the receiving account can be blocked before it is moved on. Every hour matters.

Keep this ready before you call: the bank or wallet the money left from, your account number or UPI ID, the transaction ID and date of each payment, the card number if a card was misused, and screenshots of the payment and the conversation.

You will get an acknowledgement number by SMS or email. Use it to complete the complaint on the national cybercrime portal and to track it. It is a complaint number, not an FIR. Our step-by-step guide to 1930 and the portal.

2 · Tell your bank, in writing

Official fraud numbers for 18 banks. Block your card, UPI and net banking through your bank's 24x7 helpline, app or website, and report the transactions as fraudulent. Ask for a complaint reference number and note the date and time. Then send a short written complaint (email or letter) listing each transaction. How quickly you report decides how much of the loss you can be made to bear.

For transactions up to 31 December 2026 (RBI's 2017 rules): if the fraud was the bank's fault, you owe nothing. If a third party caused it and neither you nor the bank was at fault, you owe nothing if you report within 3 working days of the bank's alert. Report within 4 to 7 working days and your loss is capped at ₹5,000 for a basic savings account, ₹10,000 for other savings accounts, prepaid instruments, credit cards with limits up to ₹5 lakh, and current or overdraft accounts of small businesses and of individuals with an average balance up to ₹25 lakh, and ₹25,000 for all other accounts and cards, or the transaction amount if that is lower. After that, the bank's own policy applies. If you shared your PIN or OTP, you bear the loss until you report it. The bank must credit the disputed amount within 10 working days of your report and settle the complaint within 90 days.

For transactions from 1 January 2027 (RBI's new rules): you owe nothing if the bank was at fault, or if a third party caused it and you report within 5 calendar days. Banks must settle complaints within 45 days (60 for cross-border transactions) and reverse credit card frauds within 5 days. If you were tricked into giving your details and lost up to ₹50,000, you can get a one-time compensation of 85% of the net loss, up to ₹25,000, provided you reported to your bank and to 1930 or the cybercrime portal within 5 calendar days.

If the bank does not reply within 30 days or you disagree with its decision, go to the RBI Ombudsman within 90 days. How to complain to the RBI Ombudsman.

3 · If money was held

When your complaint reaches the banks in time, money in the fraudster's account can be put on hold. It is not paid back automatically: it is released through the police and, often, a court order. Since April 2026 the national portal has a module for returning held money and for grievances about frozen accounts. How held money is released.

4 · Do not pay anyone to get it back

Victims are targeted a second time by people claiming to be lawyers, "ethical hackers", police or government recovery agents who can return the money for a fee. No government body charges for a complaint, and no one can pay to speed up a 1930 case. How recovery scams work.