Particle.news
Download on the App Store

India Panel on ‘Digital Arrest’ Scams Backs Liability for Banks, Telecoms

The Supreme Court’s suo motu case has triggered coordinated fixes with proposals due before the next hearing on January 20.

Overview

  • The MHA-led inter-departmental committee agreed in principle that regulated entities should be accountable when victim losses stem from negligence, service deficiency or fraud.
  • The Home Affairs panel convened its first meeting on December 29 and will meet fortnightly under the Special Secretary (Internal Security), with the Attorney General participating.
  • The RBI told the committee it has advised banks to use AI-based fraud detection and is in advanced stages of finalizing an SOP to freeze suspicious bank accounts.
  • The DoT said draft rules under the Telecommunications Act, 2023 are in stakeholder consultation to tighten controls on negligent SIM issuance and multiple connections to a single individual.
  • The I4C reported near-final SOPs for freezing, unfreezing, recovery and restitution of funds and upgrades under consideration for the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal and 1930 helpline, as the CBI proposed a monetary threshold for case allocation and the MHA sought a month for further work.