- The Finance Ministry is suggesting more stringent measures to safeguard citizens against cyber theft.
- Over 1.1 million cyberfraud instances were reported to India’s National Crime Records Bureau in 2023.
- The RBI prohibited the state-owned Bank of Baroda from accepting new users on its mobile application, “BoB World”.
The Finance Ministry, in response to an increase in occurrences like the recent Bank of Baroda World app scam, is suggesting more stringent measures to safeguard citizens against cyber theft.
With over 1.1 million cyberfraud instances reported to India’s National Crime Records Bureau in 2023, these actions are a part of a larger national effort to tackle cybercrime. To coordinate national efforts to combat all forms of cybercrime, the Ministry of Home Affairs established the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C).
Cyber theft
When onboarding new merchants, particularly Business Correspondents (BCs), who may be more vulnerable to security breaches, the government is pressuring banks and other financial institutions to do more thorough due diligence and stricter Know Your Customer (KYC) processes.
The suggestion places a strong emphasis on the necessity of better data security and protection procedures at the merchant and business community levels, as these sectors’ vulnerabilities may present openings for cybercriminals.
In addition to recommending tougher onboarding guidelines for BCs and possibly blocking micro ATMs linked to fraudulent activity, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may counsel banks to examine the concentration of BCs in regions with a high rate of cyber fraud.
The RBI prohibited the state-owned Bank of Baroda from accepting new users on its mobile application, “BoB World,” in October 2023 due to significant regulatory apprehensions.
The BoB has already taken remedial action to address the directives from the central bank and started additional actions to close any gaps that still exist.
