Cyber ​​Fraud Refund: Now if you are a victim of online fraud, you will get money “at home”; Government launches new ‘mobile restoration module’

“Someone fraudulently withdrew money from my bank account, now can I get that money back?” In today’s era, this is the biggest and worrying question for millions of Indians who are victims of cyber fraud. Till now, after becoming a victim of online financial fraud, victims had to go through a very long and tedious legal process between police stations, banks and courts to get their hard-earned money back. In many cases, even after the cyber police froze the criminal’s bank account, it took months or years for the victim to get the money back.

To root out this big challenge, the Indian Cyber ​​Crime Coordination Center (I4C), working under the Union Home Ministry, has launched a revolutionary digital initiative, ‘Mobile Restoration Module (MRM). It is a new advanced digital extension of the National Cyber ​​Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), the main objective of which is to help the victims of cyber crime get their stuck money back through online medium with utmost ease and transparency. Let us understand in this detailed explainer how this new system works, what are the rules for refund and how you can apply for it sitting at home.

Why was this new refund module needed?

India is currently one of the fastest growing digital economies in the world. UPI, net banking, e-commerce and social media have directly connected crores of citizens of the country to the online world. According to government data, more than 86 percent of households in the country are currently connected to the internet. But as fast as digital services grew, the network of cyber criminals also strengthened with great cleverness.

Government figures show that:

• year 2022 The total number of cyber security incidents recorded in the country in 10.29 lakh Was.

• year 2024 This figure increased at a record rapid pace in 22.68 lakh Reached. This means that within just two years the number of cyber financial crimes in the country more than doubled.

Nowadays cyber criminals are not limited to just the old style ‘OTP Fraud’. Now they are using very complex and new diplomatic tactics like digital arrest, fake stock market investment schemes, part-time job scams, fake bank KYC updates, fake customer care numbers and impersonation on social media to cheat. In such a situation, the biggest problem was that even if the victim complained in time and the defrauded money was frozen in the banking channel, the victim would not be able to get the refund due to court and administrative complications. The MRM module is the perfect solution to this problem.

Will everyone get their money back? Know the 2 most important conditions

It is important to understand that the Mobile Restoration Module (MRM) is not a magic wand. The victim can get refund through this digital system only if the following two most important and mandatory conditions are fulfilled:

• First condition (immediate complaint during golden hour): As soon as the victim came to know about the fraud, without wasting a minute he immediately called the National Cyber ​​Helpline number. 1930 You may have registered your complaint by calling , or registered your complaint online on Cyber ​​Crime Portal (NCRP).

• Second condition (Freeze amount): The defrauded money can be located (trace) by the police in the banking system even before it is withdrawn from the bank by the criminals. has been frozen. If criminals have already withdrawn the money from the ATM or converted it into cryptocurrency or any other medium, refund will not be possible through this module. That is why experts always say that in cases of cyber fraud, the first few minutes (Golden Hours) are the most precious.

Three government categories of refund (Refund Categories)

For the convenience of the victims and to speed up the process, I4C has fixed three different categories (Slabs) based on the refund amount:

How to apply for refund on MRM portal? (Step-by-Step Guide)

If your defrauded amount has been frozen in the bank account, then to get your money back you have to follow the simple digital steps given below:

• Step 1 (Portal Login): First of all go to the official portal of Mobile Restoration Module (MRM) and click on the link given there. ‘Citizen Login’ Click on the button.

• Step 2 (Verification): To log in, use the same mobile number that you used while filing the initial cyber crime complaint on the NCRP portal. Verify it through OTP.

• Step 3 (Enter Complaint ID): within the portal ‘Raise Refund Request’ Go to section and your 14-digit digital complaint ID Enter (This ID was received by you on SMS or email while filing cyber complaint).

• Step 4 (Document Upload): After this, necessary documents asked like – your PAN cardPassbook or statement details of the affected bank account and if your amount falls in Category-3 copy of FIR And scan the court order and upload it.

• Step 5 (Tracking Code): After successful submission of the form, a special tracking code will be generated by the portal, which will always ‘MR2026’ Will start from. With the help of this unique code, you can check the live status of your refund online anytime in future.

‘Sanchar Saathi’: Digital shield to stop crime

While on one hand the MRM module of the Home Ministry works to get the money back after fraud, on the other hand the MRM module of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) works ‘Communication Saathi’ Portal and mobile app are the biggest weapons to stop criminals from cheating. Since a large part of cyber crime is committed through fake SIM cards and stolen mobiles, it is necessary to break this network. 17 January 2025 Sanchar Sathi app was launched on.

Main features and citizen services of Sanchar Saathi:

1. Blocking stolen mobile: Through this, any citizen of the country can block his lost or stolen smartphone across the country.

2. IMEI Tracking: The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number of a stolen handset can be tracked live.

3. SIM card check: By live checking how many SIM cards are running in your name in the country, you can get the suspicious SIMs immediately switched off.

4. Complaint about fake messages: Direct complaints can be filed about suspicious calls, spam messages and WhatsApp fraud links.

Shocking recovery figures: According to official data from the Department of Telecommunications, for the first time in October 2025, more than 50,000 stolen mobiles were recovered in a single month in India. Till now with the help of this portal across the country More than 7 lakh mobile phones recovered This means that on an average, more than one stolen mobile phone is being traced by the police every minute. Apart from this, with the help of this system, people involved in cyber crimes can More than 9.42 lakh suspicious SIM cards And Over 2.63 lakh IMEI numbers Has been blocked forever.

Government’s budgetary expenditure on cyber security

The central government has also made a major increase in its budgetary allocation to respond to the increasing cyber attacks in the country and to strengthen the security of sensitive digital infrastructure. National Cyber ​​Security Agency CERT-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) An average annual budget of between Rs 255 to 277 crore has been allocated in the last four years.

financial year 2025-26 By increasing the budgetary allocation for this agency in Rs 277 crore While the current financial year Special provision of Rs 269 crore for this in the budget of 2026-27 Is placed. Overall, this year for the regulatory authorities of the digital world Rs 464 crore A large fund of Rs. 10,000 has been kept, in which CERT-In has the largest stake. This amount is being spent on real-time monitoring of sophisticated cyber attacks, issuing national security alerts and upgrading the country’s digital capability and cyber warfare.