Tackling cyber frauds: Finance Ministry includes I4C under PMLA for information sharing

The government has authorised Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to share and receive information from the Enforcement Directorate under the anti-money laundering law, a move aimed at detecting money trail and combating cyber frauds. Established under the home ministry, I4C is envisaged to act as the nodal point to curb cybercrime in the country. I4C focusses on improving coordination between various law enforcement agencies and the stakeholders, driving change in India's overall capability to tackle cybercrime.

In a notification dated April 25, the Revenue Department under the Finance Ministry included I4C under Section 66 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This would help I4C to share and receive information from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and other law enforcement agencies.

Amid growing instances of cyber frauds targeting common man, this information sharing would help identify the masterminds behind such frauds which are mostly trans-national.

Such online frauds are being perpetrated through fake websites, deceptive social media pages, and paid advertisements on search engines. Such fraudsters also resort to sending OTP or a weblink on an individual's phone or email, and when an unsuspecting individual clicks on the link or shares the OTP, his/her phone/computer gets hacked.

The government has urged the public to report such websites on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal at cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930 in case of any fraud.