The Secretary of the Department of Financial Services (DFS) within the Ministry of Finance spearheaded a meeting in New Delhi today, focusing on the escalating concerns regarding cyber security within the financial services sector, particularly the surge in recent online financial scams. This critical discussion involved high-ranking officials from various departments and organizations, including the Departments of Financial Services, Economic Affairs, Revenue, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Telecom, Reserve Bank of India, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, UIDAI, Indian Cyber Crime Co-ordination Center, NPCI, and several prominent banks and financial institutions such as State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IDFC First Bank, Airtel Payment Bank, Equitas Small Finance Bank, Google Pay India, PayTM, and Razorpay.
The Indian Cyber Crime Co-ordination Center (I4C), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, presented the latest statistics on digital payment frauds recorded in the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP). They outlined various sources of these financial frauds, elucidated the strategies employed by fraudsters, and highlighted the challenges faced in combatting financial cybercrimes. Additionally, representatives from State Bank of India (SBI) provided insights into their Proactive Risk Monitoring (PRM) strategy, while PayTM and Razorpay shared their successful practices in mitigating such fraudulent activities.
The meeting primarily aimed to evaluate the readiness of banks and financial institutions in dealing with challenges arising from cyber security threats, particularly the rising trend of digital payment frauds. The attendees deliberated on a targeted approach to mitigate cyber-attacks and frauds within the financial services sector.
Key observations made during the discussions included:
- Disconnecting approximately 70 lakh mobile connections linked to cybercrime or financial frauds reported through digital intelligence platforms.
- Safeguarding defrauded money amounting to Rs. 900 crore, thereby benefiting around 3.5 lakh victims.
Several critical issues were addressed during the meeting, including the imperative of enhancing seamless coordination among police, banks, and financial entities for real-time tracking and blocking of defrauded funds. The discussions also revolved around the need to incorporate all financial institutions, including NBFCs and major cooperative banks, into the ‘Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS).’ Emphasis was placed on strategies to combat the misuse of mule accounts, improving response times in handling alerts on online financial frauds, and appointing regional/state-level nodal officers to collaborate with law enforcement agencies.
Other key points of discussion encompassed maintaining a central registry for merchant onboarding and standardizing KYC procedures, whitelisting digital lending apps, implementing recommendations from the Digital Lending Working Group, and intensifying customer awareness and education programs on digital payment security.