The Finance Ministry has empowered I4C to share information under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act), enhancing coordination with the Enforcement Directorate to combat cyber fraud. This move aims to trace money trails and crack down on rising transnational cyber scams targeting citizens.

According to the anti-money laundering law, the government has given the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) permission to communicate with the Enforcement Directorate and receive information to identify money trails and stop cyber scams.   The Home Ministry created I4C to serve as the primary hub for reducing cybercrime in the nation.

I4C seeks to strengthen collaboration between various law enforcement agencies and stakeholders to increase India’s overall ability to tackle cybercrime.

In compliance with Section 66 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the Finance Ministry’s Revenue Department added I4C in a notification dated April 25.   As a result, I4C was able to communicate with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and other law enforcement organisations more easily.

This information sharing would help identify the masterminds behind the international cyber frauds that target the general public and are becoming more and more common.

Phishing websites, false social media identities, and sponsored search engine advertisements are all being used in these types of online scams.  These con artists also send an OTP or a webpage link to a victim’s email or phone.  The victim’s phone or computer is compromised when they share the OTP or click on the link.

The government has requested that individuals use the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal at cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930 in the event of fraud to report such websites.