How do I make a cyber crime complaint in Odisha after online fraud or harassment?

Cyber crime complaint in Odisha: the first hour matters

A cyber crime complaint in Odisha after online money fraud should start with a call to 1930, the National Cyber Crime Helpline, run with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre and linked to banks and payment companies. The Commissionerate Police in Bhubaneswar have publicly advised that if 1930 is called within the "golden hour" after the fraud, while the money is still moving between accounts and payment gateways, a large part of it can often be held back. Waiting to visit a police station first loses that time.

When you call, have ready:

• the transaction ID / UTR number, date, time and amount of each debit;
• your bank, account or card number (never your PIN, OTP or password);
• the account, UPI ID, wallet or phone number the money went to;
• the phone numbers, links, app names or profiles used by the fraudster.

You will get an acknowledgement number. Use it to complete the complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal promptly.

Reporting on cybercrime.gov.in

1. Go to cybercrime.gov.in and choose the category: financial fraud, or other cyber crime (for example harassment, fake profile, hacking, sextortion).
2. Register with your mobile number and select Odisha and your district.
3. Fill in the incident details and upload screenshots, bank statements and other evidence.
4. Note the complaint number and track it on the portal. The complaint is routed to the Odisha Police unit concerned.

The portal has a separate section for crimes against women and children, including sexually explicit or child abuse material, which can be reported without giving your identity.

Tell your bank in writing: RBI liability rules

Block the card, UPI or net banking at once through the bank's helpline or app, then give the bank a written complaint and keep the reference. For transactions up to 31 December 2026, the RBI circular of 6 July 2017 on unauthorised electronic banking transactions applies:

The bank must credit the disputed amount provisionally (a "shadow reversal") within 10 working days of your notification and resolve the complaint within 90 days. The burden of proving your liability is on the bank.

From 1 January 2027 the rules change. Amendment directions issued by the RBI on 24 June 2026 apply to electronic banking transactions made on or after that date. In outline: liability for a third-party breach is zero if you report to the bank within five calendar days; a one-time (once in a lifetime) compensation of 85 per cent of the net loss or Rs 25,000, whichever is less, is available for frauds with a gross loss of up to Rs 50,000, even where the customer was negligent, if you report to the bank and to 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in within five days; disputed credit card transactions get a provisional credit within five calendar days; and banks must resolve fraud complaints within 45 days (60 days for cross-border transactions). Check the RBI's current directions for the exact conditions. If the bank does not respond properly, see complaints against banks in Odisha.

e-Zero FIR for large cyber frauds in Odisha

Odisha Police have linked the 1930 helpline to the state's crime records system so that a complaint of cyber financial fraud of Rs 10 lakh or more automatically generates an e-Zero FIR request, whatever the place of the offence. The request goes to the Cyber Police Station of the Crime Branch, which can register a regular FIR and investigate, transfer it to the cyber police station with jurisdiction, register a Zero FIR and forward it, link it to an existing FIR, or close it if the criteria are not met. For smaller amounts, an FIR is registered in the ordinary way; see how to file an FIR in Odisha.

Cyber police stations in Odisha and your local thana

• The Crime Branch, CID at Cuttack runs a Cyber Crime Police Station with statewide reach (Odisha Crime Branch).
• The Commissionerate Police, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack has a Cyber Crime and Economic Offence Police Station, and several districts, including Sambalpur, Rourkela and Keonjhar, have district cyber police stations. In April 2025 the state government notified 20 more cyber police stations to add to the 14 then working. Check the current list with the district police.
• You do not have to travel to a cyber police station. In Jayanta Kumar Das v. State of Odisha (August 2025) the Orissa High Court held that local police stations can also investigate offences under the Information Technology Act, 2000, provided the investigating officer is at least of the rank of Inspector, as Section 78 of that Act requires.

Harassment, fake profiles and morphed images

• Report to the platform using its "report" option and its grievance officer. Under Rule 3(2)(b) of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, a platform must remove or disable, within 24 hours of a complaint, content that shows a person's private areas, nudity or sexual acts, or is an impersonation such as a morphed image. If the platform does not act, an appeal lies to the Grievance Appellate Committee (gac.gov.in).
• Report on cybercrime.gov.in and to the police for an FIR. The offences often involved are, under the IT Act: identity theft (Section 66C), cheating by personation using a computer resource (66D), violation of privacy (66E), and publishing obscene or sexually explicit material (67, 67A); and under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023: cheating (318), cheating by personation (319), stalking including monitoring a woman's online activity (78), extortion (308) and criminal intimidation (351).
• For false and damaging posts about you, see defamation in Odisha.
• Do not pay anyone who threatens to publish images. Paying rarely ends the demands; report it.

Preserve the evidence

• Take screenshots showing the date, time, sender, phone number or profile URL. Save full chat exports, emails with headers, and SMS.
• Download bank and wallet statements showing the debits.
• Do not delete chats, block the sender before saving the evidence, or reset the phone.
• Write down a timeline while it is fresh: what happened, in what order, and what you clicked or shared.

Electronic records are proved under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, which may require a certificate about the device or system they came from, so keep the original device and files.

Getting frozen money back

When a complaint is acted on quickly, banks put a hold (lien) on the amount in the recipient accounts. Release of that money to you generally needs an order of the court, usually the Magistrate before whom the FIR is pending, on an application with the FIR, bank statements and proof that the money was yours. Recovery is not certain and can take time, which is why early reporting matters.

Common frauds to recognise

• "Digital arrest": callers posing as police, CBI, customs or court officials on a video call, demanding money to avoid arrest. No genuine agency arrests or settles a case over a video call.
• Fake KYC update, electricity disconnection or parcel calls with a link or screen-sharing app.
• Part-time job, task or stock "investment" groups on messaging apps.
• Suspected fraud calls and messages can be reported on the Chakshu facility of Sanchar Saathi.

If you cannot afford an advocate for a court application, see free legal aid in Odisha. Work handled in criminal matters is described on the criminal practice area page.

Some losses need another route as well: online shopping complaints and refunds where a seller does not deliver, and chit fund and deposit scams in Odisha where an investment scheme collapses.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (MHA)
• RBI: Limiting liability of customers in unauthorised electronic banking transactions (6 July 2017)
• Crime Branch, CID, Odisha Police
• Information Technology Act, 2000 and IT Rules, 2021 (India Code)
• Sanchar Saathi: Chakshu fraud reporting (DoT)
• RBI press release, 24 June 2026: amendment directions on limiting customer liability in digital transactions (from 1 January 2027)

General information, not legal advice. Every matter turns on its own facts and documents, and the law and official procedures change. Check the current position with the concerned office, or take advice on your own facts, before acting.