How to report a crypto scam in India
Act within the golden hour. Call 1930 immediately — it can trigger a freeze on the fraudster's account — then file the formal complaint on cybercrime.gov.in within 24 hours.
Report online — the fastest step
Call 1930 first — within the golden hour it can request the beneficiary bank to freeze the transferred funds. Then file the formal complaint online at the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal within 24 hours, using your acknowledgement number.
Cyber-fraud helpline: 1930 (toll-free, 24/7).
Who to report to in India
- •National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal — run by I4C, Ministry of Home Affairs; helpline 1930.
- •RBI Sachet — verify entities & report unregistered/illegal schemes.
- •SEBI SCORES — for securities, broker or mutual-fund fraud.
Check before you pay
India has no dedicated crypto regulator, so verify by scheme type. Use RBI Sachet to check whether an "investment company" or scheme is registered and to report unregistered deposit/investment schemes; it routes to SEBI, RBI or police as appropriate. For securities fraud, lodge with SEBI SCORES.
RBI Sachet — verify & report →Where to get help & support
- •1930 helpline — the primary victim line; it feeds cybercrime.gov.in and can trigger a bank lien on the fraudster's account.
- •cybercrime.gov.in — track your complaint status.
Do this right now
- •Stop all contact and send no more money — including "fees" or "taxes" to withdraw.
- •Call 1930 immediately (within the golden hour) to try to freeze the transfer.
- •Preserve evidence: screenshots, wallet addresses, transaction hashes, the scam website or app.
- •Report the scam wallet address on Chainabuse.
India-specific things to know
- •Call 1930 first, within the golden hour. It can request the beneficiary bank to freeze/lien the transferred funds within minutes — the most time-critical step to recover money.
- •After calling 1930 and getting an acknowledgement number, file the formal complaint on cybercrime.gov.in within 24 hours using that number.
- •Use RBI Sachet to check whether an "investment company" or scheme is registered, and to report unregistered schemes.
- •For securities, broker or mutual-fund fraud specifically, also lodge with SEBI SCORES.
⚠️ Beware "recovery" services. Anyone who contacts you promising to get your money back for an upfront fee is almost always a second scam. See the red flags →
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