Digital Lenders Association of India (DLAI) on Friday announced the launch of the Fintech Suraksha (FTS) initiative, aimed at raising awareness about unauthorized lending apps and cyber fraud in the Digital Financial Services (DFS) space.
The initiative aims to promote sensitivity to actions such as distinguishing between authorized and bogus credit applications, the importance of multi-factor authentication, security practices in transactions through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and actions for reporting digital financial fraud.
DLAI said it aims to generate awareness through social media platforms to help vulnerable users, including teenagers and seniors, differentiate between unscrupulous financial schemes and registered DFS providers.
The association of digital lenders added that it will work with law enforcement agencies such as the Economic Offenses Wing in critical states, aimed at providing information to investigating officers. It will focus on cyber security and customer protection related regulations laid down by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
“FTS will focus on helping the officials understand the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) registered regulated entities, genuine Loan Service Providers (LSPs) and means to ensure veracity of such service providers,” DLAI said in a statement.
According to data from the Union Home Ministry, more than 3 million cybercrime complaints have been reported by citizens so far. Such crimes include job fraud, Ponzi schemes, illegal lending apps, impersonation and ‘sextortion’, Business Standard reported earlier this month.
As many as 52,974 cybercrimes were reported in 2021, and according to the National Crime Records Bureau, the number increased by more than 24 percent to 65,893 in 2022. As many as 46.5 percent of people accused of cybercrime were convicted in 2022.
The association added that it will also look at tackling customer fraud through various steps, including working with central complaint officers, customer helplines and DLAI whitelisting of members. The program will be launched in states where fraud cases have been the highest in the past year.
On the ground, the initiative includes a series of physical workshops and the launch of the ‘India Fintech Suraksha Report 2024.’
“Through the Fintech Suraksha initiative, we aim to strengthen the fintech ecosystem and hope to achieve a scenario where no consumer falls prey to cybercriminals due to lack of awareness. We are encouraged by the enthusiastic participation of our members in this cause, who have generously pledged their time and resources to the Fintech Suraksha Initiative and hope to see great results in the coming months,” said Jatinder Handoo, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), DLAI .
First print: January 26, 2024 | 5:48 PM IST