Financial Frauds: Centre Blocks 7 Million Mobile Numbers (Image: Pixabay)

Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi said on November 28 that the central government has suspended 70 lakh mobile numbers on account of suspicious transactions. Earlier on Wednesday, the Financial Services Secretary chaired a meeting in New Delhi to discuss issues to cyber security in the financial services sector and surging digital payment fraud.

In the meeting, it was noted that 70 lakh mobile connections involved in cybercrime or financial frauds reported through digital intelligence platforms have been suspended so far. Also, ₹900 crore of defrauded money has been saved, which has benefited around 3.5 lakh victims. The high-level meeting was attended by senior officials from various central government departments, bankers, and regulators overseeing the financial and telecom sectors. In this meeting, there were also discussions on the renewed focus on facilitating seamless coordination between police, banks, and financial entities for real-time tracking and blocking of defrauded money.

Meanwhile, there was also a discussion on bringing all financial institutions, including NBFCs, to the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS). It is a platform developed by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre for quick reporting of financial cyber frauds. Vivek Joshi said that banks operating in the country have been asked to strengthen their processes and systems in advance to tackle the issues to financial frauds. The Financial Services Secretary also said that states need to pay attention to issues regarding Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) fraud and added that state governments should ensure data protection. Vivek Joshi also informed that a similar meeting will take place in January.