What should I do after losing money in Telegram scam?
I saw an investment plan on a Telegram channel that promised to double the money. I contacted the person and sent ₹2,000 as per the plan, which stated that I would receive ₹10,000 in return. After 45 minutes, I waited for over an hour. Then he said that my profit was ₹15,840 and that I needed to pay ₹5,840 as GST to get the amount. I told him I didn’t have ₹5,000 and requested a refund of my ₹2,000. He said it would take over 8 hours. Now he is seeing my messages but not replying.
It should also be reported to Telegram on its in-app ‘Report’ feature to flag the accounts, you can email to abuse@telegram.org with full details and evidence post with telegram will take action against the accounts if evidence is valid. Also, especially if it has happened recently (within hours) then a call should be made on 1930, which is the Government’s 24/7 Cyber Financial Fraud Helpline number, they will help coordinate with the banks and assist in the process of stopping or reversing as well as at times freeze the scammers account
Apart from the these legal remedies, it is also essential to inform your bank or your wallet provider (e.g. Paytm, PhonePe, Google Pay,) immediately, the transaction can be flagged or reversed, while it's rare but it is worth the attempt. And also ask them to lodge a complaint with National Payments Corporation of India, NPCI.
a complaint can also be filed at the respective criminal court under the s. 318 for cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property and s. 316 for criminal breach of trust of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 along with s.66D for cheating by personation using computer resources and s.66C for identity theft (if applicable) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
A complaint can also be lodged with the RBI Ombudsman, it allows anyone to lodge a complaint against RBI or Banks under its governance and thus, if a bank is involved and the bank did not act timely or has mishandled the dispute process at https://cms.rbi.org.in. It also allows tracking of the complaint progress and for appeal if needed. CERT-In, Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, can assist in tracking down the source of the cyber scam and provide technical assistance. Thus, a complaint can be filed with them if there was any cyber threat involved, it can be filed by sending them an email at incident@cert-in.org.in.
Firstly, it is essential to file a complaint at the nearest cyber cell or the local police station, along with the complaint, attach evidences such as screenshots of all conversations made, details of payments made, profile details of the scammer (anything that’s available like Telegram ID, Phone number), any email or SMS received. A complaint can also be registered on the National Cyber Crime Portal (https://cybercrime.gov.in), where you will be required to choose a category (Online Financial Fraud / Online Investment Fraud), here the complaints are monitored by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the cases are routed to the appropriate state law enforcement unit.
This is a case of online fraud. Save all communications and file a complaint at the Cyber Crime Portal. You may also visit your local police station and lodge an FIR for cheating (Section 318 BNS). Do not transfer more money. A lawyer can help escalate the matter if needed. For further legal assistance contact us on our helpline number.
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