To combat digital fraud, the government has suspended 70 lakh mobile numbers due to suspicious transactions, revealed Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi. Following a meeting on financial cybersecurity and increasing digital payment fraud, Joshi emphasized the need for banks to reinforce their systems and processes. The government aims to conduct more such meetings, with the next scheduled for January. In addressing Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) fraud, states are urged to investigate and ensure data protection. The meeting, chaired by the Financial Services Secretary, discussed standardizing Know Your Customer (KYC) processes for merchants and emphasized the importance of coordination among agencies to combat cyber fraud.
The need for public awareness about cyber fraud was underscored to protect vulnerable customers from scams. The meeting featured a presentation by the Indian Cyber Crime Co-ordination Centre on the latest digital payment fraud statistics reported in the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, addressing challenges and issues faced in countering such incidents. Senior officials from various departments attended the meeting, including the Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Revenue, Department of Telecom, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, and National Payments Corporation of India. The meeting gains significance in light of recent digital fraud incidents reported by UCO Bank and Bank of Baroda.
