New Delhi: As digital transactions continue to expand, the government is strengthening coordination between financial institutions and law enforcement agencies to detect cyber fraud networks, identify suspicious financial activity and prevent fraudulent money from moving through the banking system. The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) Suspect Registry has emerged as an important part of this preventive strategy. The system enables banks and financial institutions to identify and act on suspicious bank accounts, mobile numbers, email addresses, digital identities and devices linked to cybercrime.
I4C, in collaboration with banks and financial institutions, launched the Suspect Registry on September 10, 2024. The registry is designed to identify digital identifiers being used in cybercrime or suspected of being associated with fraudulent activity. As of June 30, 2026, more than 30.48 lakh suspicious identifiers had been reported to the registry by banks and financial institutions.
During the same period, details of 32.08 lakh Layer-1 mule accounts were also identified and shared. Mule accounts are bank accounts used by cybercriminals to receive, transfer or layer money obtained through fraud. In many cases, account holders are offered commissions or other incentives to allow criminals to use their accounts for routing illicit funds.
Moving stolen money rapidly through multiple accounts is a common tactic used by cybercrime networks. Once funds leave a victim’s account, they can pass through several bank accounts within a short period. This process, commonly known as layering, makes it increasingly difficult for investigators to identify the original source of the money and trace its ultimate beneficiaries. The Suspect Registry seeks to identify such suspicious accounts at an early stage and disrupt the financial chain before the funds move further.
Government data shows that, as of June 30, 2026, preventive measures linked to the Suspect Registry had helped block transactions involving suspected or potentially fraudulent funds worth around ₹25,698 crore. The figure reflects a growing shift from a reactive approach, in which agencies investigate fraud after money has been transferred, to a preventive model aimed at stopping suspicious transactions at an early stage.
Mobile numbers and devices used in cybercrime are also being targeted. The government has blocked 15.75 lakh SIM cards and 5.77 lakh IMEIs linked to suspicious or fraudulent activities. An IMEI is a unique identification number assigned to a mobile device. Blocking the IMEI of a device linked to cybercrime can prevent it from being used on mobile networks.
Cybercriminals, meanwhile, continue to adopt new methods to target victims. Fake websites, social media platforms, messaging applications and digital identities are increasingly being used for scams involving fraudulent investments, fake job offers, digital arrest threats, bank KYC updates, parcel deliveries and electricity bills. Social engineering techniques are also used to manipulate victims into revealing sensitive information or transferring money directly to accounts controlled by fraudsters.
Renowned cybercrime expert and former IPS officer Prof. Triveni Singh said that identifying a criminal is not enough in cyber fraud cases; stopping the movement of fraudulent funds at the earliest stage is equally important. Real-time identification of suspicious accounts, mobile numbers and digital devices can help disrupt the money trail before it becomes more complicated. Quick coordination involving banking records, digital logs and electronic evidence can significantly strengthen investigations.
A major challenge in tackling cybercrime is its cross-state nature. A fraudster operating from one state can target a victim in another, while the stolen money may be routed through accounts located across several other states. This makes coordination between banks, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies critical.
The Suspect Registry is intended to strengthen this national-level coordination by allowing suspicious identifiers detected by one financial institution to provide intelligence to others. This can help institutions respond more quickly when the same account, number or digital identifier appears in another suspicious transaction.
However, cybercriminal networks are also evolving rapidly. Artificial intelligence, fake digital identities and increasingly sophisticated social engineering techniques are creating new challenges for enforcement agencies. The effectiveness of the preventive system will therefore depend on faster detection, real-time information sharing, stronger financial monitoring and closer coordination among banks and law enforcement agencies.
