14,007 cyber fraud cases were registered in 2021: Govt in Parliament

As many as 14,007 cyber fraud cases were registered in 2021, Parliament was informed on Monday.

Quoting National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said "total number of cyber fraud cases which includes...frauds committed through online apps is 14,007 in 2021 (latest published data pertains to the year 2021)."

RBI issued regulatory guidelines on digital lending on September 2, 2022 aimed at firming up the regulatory framework for digital lending while enhancing customer protection and making the digital lending ecosystem safe and sound, he said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.

As many as 1,062 complaints related to digital lending apps' received by the Offices of the RBI Ombudsman (ORBIOs) against REs under Reserve Bank Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021 (RB-IOS) were received between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, he said.

This regulatory framework is based on the principle that lending business can be carried out only by entities that are either regulated by it or entities permitted to do so under any other law, he said.

All the Regulated Entities (REs) are required to comply with the said guidelines on digital lending, he said.

Compliance with these guidelines are examined on sample basis during supervisory assessment and any non-compliance observed is taken up for rectification apart from initiating supervisory/enforcement action, as deemed fit.

The Enforcement Department of RBI has not imposed any monetary penalty on REs for non-compliance with guidelines on digital lending issued on September 9, 2022.

In reply to another question, Karad said, the 'Depositor Education and Awareness Fund Scheme, 2014', was notified by Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which covers norms related to unclaimed deposits and outlines details of utilisation of fund.

As a result of various steps undertaken to return the unclaimed deposits to their rightful owners/claimants, total Rs 5,729 crore has been transferred from the fund to banks towards refund of settling unclaimed deposits, in last five years, he said.

RBI has also launched campaign '100 Days 100 Pays for banks to trace and settle top 100 unclaimed deposits of every bank in every district of the country within 100 days, from June 1, 2023 to September 8, 2023, he said.