1930 is India's national helpline for reporting online financial fraud, and it runs round the clock. If you have been cheated in a crypto scam, call 1930 first, as fast as you can, then file a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at cybercrime.gov.in. Your complaint is passed to banks, wallets and merchants, which can freeze money that is still sitting in an account.
Speed is everything. The system works best while your money is still moving through bank rails. Once it has been converted to crypto and sent on, it is much harder to stop. So keep your bank details, transaction IDs and the scammer's account or phone number ready, call, then file online, then tell your exchange through its official channels only. And be ready for the second scam, the one that promises to recover your money for a fee. Here is the first hour, step by step.
Even we once thought a real investor was a scammer
I co-founded Unocoin in 2013. Early on, in 2014, Barry Silbert emailed my co-founder about investing in us. My co-founder deleted the email. Twice. Why would a serious investor write out of the blue offering money to a small Bitcoin company in India? It looked exactly like a scam. It only clicked when Barry wrote back that he was an investor in Coinbase and BitPay. He went on to back Unocoin.
I tell that story because it shows how crypto feels from the inside: everyone is on guard, all the time, and still the scams keep working. They work because they are designed by people who do this full time, against people who are busy, hopeful or scared. If it happened to you, it is not because you are foolish. It is because someone worked hard to fool you. What matters now is what you do in the next hour.
Call 1930 first
Dial 1930 from any phone. It replaced the older 155260 number and now runs 24 hours a day.
The helpline is part of the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System, launched in 2021. According to a reply in the Rajya Sabha on 17 December 2025, the system has saved more than ₹7,000 crore across more than 23 lakh complaints. It works by getting your complaint to the banks and payment providers involved quickly, so they can freeze money that has not yet been withdrawn.
That is why the call comes before everything else. Not after you have messaged the scammer one more time. Not after you have asked in a group whether it was a scam. Call first.
What to keep ready before you call
Have these in front of you, or gather them while you wait:
- Your bank account details and, if you paid by card, the card details
- The transaction ID, UTR number or a screenshot of the bank statement showing the payment
- The scammer's bank account number, UPI ID or phone number
- Dates, times and amounts of every payment
- Screenshots of chats, the website or app you used, and any "dashboard" showing fake profits
- If crypto was sent: the wallet address it went to, the transaction hash, and which platform you sent it from
Do not delete anything, even if it is embarrassing. Every message is evidence.
File the complaint at cybercrime.gov.in
After the call, file a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at cybercrime.gov.in. Enter all the details you gathered. Note your complaint or acknowledgement number. You will need it when you talk to your bank, your exchange and the police.
Whatever you do, do not let the paperwork delay the 1930 call. The call is about speed. The written complaint is about the record. You need both, in that order.
Tell your exchange's support, through official channels only
If the scam involved a crypto platform, either because you bought crypto there and sent it to a scammer, or because the scammer posed as the platform, tell the platform's support team. They may be able to flag accounts, preserve records or help with law enforcement requests.
Only use the contact details on the platform's official website or inside its official app. Scammers set up fake support numbers and fake social media accounts precisely for people in your situation. For Unocoin, the official channels are:
- support@unocoin.com
- +91 7788978910
- Toll-free 1800-103-2646, Monday to Saturday, 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM IST
Real support will never ask for your OTP, password, PAN or seed phrase in a chat, call or message. If anyone claiming to be support asks for one, you are talking to a scammer.
What can and cannot be frozen
Be realistic here, because false hope is its own kind of harm.
What 1930 does well is chase money through banks and payment systems. If you paid a scammer in rupees and the money is still in a bank account or wallet, a fast complaint gives the best chance of a freeze.
What is much harder is money that has already been turned into crypto and sent to a wallet the scammer controls. A confirmed Bitcoin transaction cannot be reversed by a bank or a helpline. If the coins later land on a platform that follows KYC rules, investigators may be able to trace them. But there is no guarantee, and it can take a long time.
And remember the warning on every page of this site: crypto is unregulated in India and can be highly risky, and there may be no regulatory recourse for any loss. Reporting is still worth doing, every time. It is your best chance, and it helps catch the next scam.
Beware recovery scams after the scam
This is the cruellest part. Once you have lost money, you become a target again. People will contact you claiming to be "recovery agents", "blockchain investigators", lawyers or even government officials, offering to get your money back for an upfront fee, a "tax" or a "release charge". Some will reach you because you posted about the scam in a public group.
No legitimate authority charges you to recover your money. Do not pay. Do not share your seed phrase, OTP or ID documents. Report these contacts too.
After the first hour
Once the call is made and the complaint is filed, slow down. Change the passwords on your email, exchange and banking apps, starting with any account the scammer may have seen. Turn on two-factor authentication where it is off. If you shared a seed phrase, assume that wallet is compromised and move anything left in it to a new wallet you set up yourself, from scratch. Tell your bank if you shared card or account details. Then keep a simple log of every call, complaint number and reply, with dates. If the case moves forward months later, that log will matter.
The scams to recognise next time
Crypto scams in India tend to follow a few shapes:
- Sure-shot profit offers: anyone promising fixed or doubled profits is lying.
- Task or job scams: small payments for "tasks" that grow until you are asked to "invest" to withdraw.
- Fake apps and websites that show huge balances you can never withdraw.
- Fake support: a stranger who reaches out to "help" with your account and asks for codes.
- Romance or friendship that slowly turns into an "investment opportunity".
The defence is the same each time: use only platforms registered with FIU-IND, download apps only from official sources, never share OTPs or seed phrases, and walk away from anyone promising returns. Our safety checklist puts all of it in one place. Save it, and send it to the one person in your family most likely to get that WhatsApp message next.
Common questions
What is 1930?
1930 is India's national helpline for reporting online financial fraud. It is part of the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System and passes complaints to banks, wallets and merchants so money still in accounts can be frozen.
How do I report crypto fraud in India?
Call 1930 as fast as you can, then file a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at cybercrime.gov.in. Also tell the crypto platform involved, using only the contact details on its official website or app.
Can I get my money back after a crypto scam?
Money still in a bank account or wallet can sometimes be frozen if you report quickly. Crypto already sent to a scammer's wallet is much harder to recover, and there is no guarantee. Never pay anyone who offers recovery for a fee.
Is 1930 open 24 hours?
Yes. The 1930 helpline replaced the older 155260 number and runs round the clock.