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Supreme Court Tackles Digital Arrest Scams
10 Nov
Summary
- Supreme Court mandates WhatsApp and intermediaries to propose scam prevention measures.
- Financial institutions must compensate victims for fraud due to lack of due diligence.
- RBI to operationalize victim compensation rules by December 31, 2026.
India's Supreme Court has issued critical directives to WhatsApp, financial institutions, and intermediaries to combat digital arrest scams and cybercrimes. Intermediaries, including WhatsApp, must submit proposals to the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) to prevent such fraudulent activities.
Financial institutions are mandated to compensate victims of digital arrest scams and other cyber frauds. This compensation is required when fraud is proven to have occurred due to the institution's lack of due diligence. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is tasked with incorporating these victim indemnification and compensation provisions into its regulatory measures, with the new rules to be notified by November 30, 2026, and operationalized by December 31, 2026.
