New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed WhatsApp and other digital intermediaries to spell out the steps they intend to take to prevent digital arrest scams and related cybercrimes, as it examines ways to strengthen safeguards for victims of online fraud.In an order uploaded following the October 29 hearing in the suo motu case, ‘In Re: Victims of Digital Arrest Related to Forged Documents’, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant asked the platforms to submit their proposals simultaneously to the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C). The matter will next be heard on November 23.Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for WhatsApp, informed the court that the platform had already taken preventive action against 9,400 accounts. He also said it was developing software to identify suspicious accounts and alert users, adding that an affidavit detailing the measures would be filed. The bench, comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, directed: “WhatsApp LLC (A Meta company) and other concerned intermediaries are also directed to apprise this Court of the measures they propose to undertake to prevent the digital arrest scams and related cybercrimes. They shall also simultaneously submit their proposals to the I4C.” The proceedings also examined the responsibility of banks in preventing cyber fraud. The court said financial institutions should compensate customers for losses where investigations establish that fraud occurred because of their failure to exercise due diligence. “We reiterate and emphasise that the regulatory measures proposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) must mandate and incorporate suitable provisions that require financial institutions to indemnify victims of digital arrest scams and other cyber frauds,” the bench said. It also called for safeguards such as temporarily suspending suspicious transactions that deviate from an account’s established pattern, alerting the nearest police station and physically verifying reported transactions. Despite cybercrimes declining by 50 per cent, victims have lost Rs 800 crore so far this year, the court observed. The RBI has been asked to submit a list of all authorised financial institutions at the next hearing. The proposed RBI KYC Amendment Directions, 2026, are expected to be notified by November 30 and operationalised by December 31. Separately, police agencies across states and Union territories must submit details of FIRs, investigations and recommendations for preventing, detecting and prosecuting digital arrest scams. DGPs have been directed to ensure compliance.
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