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If someone has taken money from you online, hacked your account or is harassing you, you can report it from your phone. India has a National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at cybercrime.gov.in and a toll-free helpline, 1930, which the government says exists to help citizens lodge online cyber complaints. Kerala Police notes that the 1930 helpline is available 24 hours a day. When money is involved, speed matters more than anything else.
What counts as cybercrime in India?
The portal sorts complaints into two broad groups, according to a Telangana Today guide to the portal: crimes against women and children, and other cybercrimes.
Crimes against women and children: child sexual abuse material and sexually explicit content.
Financial fraud: a UPI scam, a fake job or loan offer, a shopping site that takes payment and vanishes.
Social media crimes: fake profiles using your photos, threats, stalking.
Mobile crimes, hacking and ransomware.
If you are unsure which category fits, file anyway. The same guide notes that you can also file anonymously.
What evidence should you save first?
Save everything before you block the person or delete the chat, because the messages may disappear. This list follows the details and evidence suggested in Ujjivan Small Finance Bank's guide to reporting fraud on 1930.
The payment: bank or app name, transaction ID or UTR number, date, time and amount.
The other side: phone number, UPI ID, account number, email, profile link or website address.
Screenshots of the chat, the payment screen and the bank SMS, with the date and time visible.
A bank statement showing the debit.
A short timeline in your own words: what happened, in order, with times.
How do you report cybercrime online in India, step by step?
If you have lost money, follow the steps in Ujjivan Small Finance Bank's 1930 guide:
Call 1930 at once. An official records your details and the transaction.
Write down the acknowledgement number you receive by SMS.
Within 24 hours, complete the formal complaint on cybercrime.gov.in using that number.
Call your bank separately to block the card or UPI and raise a dispute; a 1930 report does not replace it.
For other cybercrime, go straight to the portal. You register with an OTP sent to an Indian mobile number, choose a category and sub-category, describe what happened and upload your evidence, as the Telangana Today guide explains.
What to say when you call 1930
Fill in the blanks and read it out: “I want to report an online financial fraud. On [date] at [time], [amount] rupees left my [bank] account through [UPI, card or net banking]. The transaction ID is [UTR number]. The money went to [UPI ID, account number or phone number]. I am calling from [city and state].”
What happens after you file a cybercrime complaint?
Your complaint is forwarded to the law enforcement agency nearest to you, says the Telangana Today guide, so your state police handle it from there. The Tribune reports that the portal offers online status tracking for complainants.
For money, the government says its Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System was set up for immediate reporting of financial frauds and “to stop siphoning off funds by the fraudsters” (All India Radio News). In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on 11 March 2026, the Minister of State for Home Affairs said more than ₹8,600 crore had been saved across more than 24 lakh complaints (All India Radio News). Recovery is not guaranteed, but reporting quickly improves the chance of tracing the money.
Your bank has its own rules. Under a 2017 RBI circular on unauthorised electronic transactions, you have zero liability if the bank was at fault, or if a third-party breach (neither your fault nor the bank's) is reported within three working days. If you shared your payment credentials, such as an OTP, you bear the loss until you report it to the bank. Banks must resolve such complaints within 90 days of receiving them.
What should students and parents do next?
If someone is threatening you online, for example demanding money not to share a photo, tell an adult you trust today. Do not pay; save the evidence and report it. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 112, the emergency helpline number. If what happened has left you anxious or unable to sleep, Tele MANAS is a free, 24x7 national helpline on 14416.
Parents can prepare early: learn the warning signs of cyberstalking and how to report it, read what to do if your teen is targeted by an online job scam, and have the talk about scams and OTPs with your child.
If all this has cost you a week of study, Fermi's AI tutor can work out what you already know and build a plan for the session, so you restart with a clear next step.
Save 1930 in every phone at home today.
