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With the huge surge in digital payments and UPI transactions in the country, cases of cyber crime have also increased. Many times it happens that a common citizen takes an online payment from an unknown person, transfers money from an unknown account or becomes a part of a third-party P2P crypto or gaming transaction, and suddenly a message comes from the bank that his account has been ‘Debit Freeze’ or ‘Total Freeze’.
This situation becomes extremely stressful for a person sitting in any city like Delhi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Patna, Jaipur or Bengaluru, as cash withdrawal from ATM, check clearing and UPI transfer everything stops in an instant. Law enforcement agencies (police or cyber cell) send formal notices of account freezing to banks to investigate suspicious transactions under Section 102 of CrPC (now relevant sections of Indian Civil Security Code i.e. BNSS). If you yourself are not a victim of any fraud and your account has unknowingly come under investigation, then it can be unfrozen by adopting the correct legal procedure.
As soon as you get information about account freezing, without wasting any time first contact the Branch Manager of your home branch.
Ask for the following three important information from the bank in writing:
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Description of Freezing Authority: The account has been frozen on the instructions of the cyber cell/police station of which state or district (e.g. Cyber Cell Lucknow, Delhi Police Special Cell, Telangana Cyber Crime Wing etc.)
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Acknowledgment/Complaint Number: Complaint number of National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) or notice number issued by the police.
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Disputed Transaction (Lien / Disputed Amount): Which specific date related to the account and under which Transaction ID (UTR No.) the amount has been considered suspicious. In many cases, the entire account is not frozen but only the disputed amount is ‘Lien’ imposed.
If you have accidentally received suspicious funds in your account or have unknowingly fallen into the trap of cyber fraud, follow this step-by-step process:
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Contact with the Investigating Officer (IO) of the concerned Cyber Cell: Based on the police notice or complaint number received from the bank, send a formal email to the cyber cell of the concerned state and contact the investigating officer over phone or email.
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Submission of evidence of legitimate income and transactions: You will have to prove to the investigating officer that you are bonafide. For this, the source of the disputed transaction, bill, invoice, chat history or proof that the money was sent by a legitimate business, sale of goods or a relative will have to be provided.
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Bank Statement and KYC Documents: Send verified bank statement of last 6 months, PAN card, Aadhar card and your identity card to the investigating officer by email or speed post.
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Demand for Police Clearance/NOC: When the investigating officer is satisfied with your documents that you are not part of a cyber fraud gang, he issues an official order (De-freezing Order / NOC) to the bank to unfreeze the account.
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Depositing NOC in Bank: Submit the NOC sent by the police directly to the nodal officer of the bank or received by you along with the application form at your bank branch. The account is normally activated within 24 to 48 hours of receiving clearance from the bank head office.
In most cases, cyber thugs run interstate syndicates. For example, the victim is from Hyderabad or Kerala and the money travels to the account of a businessman in Uttar Pradesh or Bihar.
If the police of another state has frozen your account, there is no need to panic and go there immediately:
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Check the status of the related complaint by visiting the National Cyber Portal (cybercrime.gov.in).
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Send a detailed written representation on registered email to the SP/DCP (Cyber Crime) and Nodal Officer of the concerned cyber cell.
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If the police does not cooperate on email, then by filing an application under CrPC 102/457 (now under BNSS) in the concerned district court through an advocate at the local level, permission can be taken to operate the remaining account while keeping the disputed amount safe.
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Do not take UPI payment from unknown people: Never accept the promise of ‘taking cash and transferring online’ when asked by a stranger. Often cyber criminals take cash from innocent people by sending fraudulent money directly to their QR codes.
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Caution in P2P Crypto Trading: Verify the authenticity of the buyer’s account when selling cryptocurrencies on peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms. If the buyer will pay you with the stolen money, your bank account will be directly frozen by the cyber cell.
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Do not rent the account to anyone: Do not give your bank account, ATM card or passbook to any other person for any commission or greed. In the eyes of the law, this is a serious crime of ‘Money Mule’.