Answer Book question
If you report it within three working days of the bank telling you about the transaction, and you did not share your credentials, your liability is zero and the bank must credit the amount back within ten working days. Report between four and seven working days and your loss is capped at ₹5,000, ₹10,000 or ₹25,000 depending on the account type. After seven days, the bank's own policy decides. If the fraud was the bank's or a third party's system failure, your liability is zero regardless. Call 1930 and file at cybercrime.gov.in the same day; that report is what freezes the money in the mule account.
If you report it within three working days of the bank telling you about the transaction, and you did not share your credentials, your liability is zero and the bank must credit the amount back within ten working days. Report between four and seven working days and your loss is capped at ₹5,000, ₹10,000 or ₹25,000 depending on the account type. After seven days, the bank's own policy decides. If the fraud was the bank's or a third party's system failure, your liability is zero regardless. Call 1930 and file at cybercrime.gov.in the same day; that report is what freezes the money in the mule account.
A retired teacher in Kozhencherry gets a call about 'KYC expiry', and ₹1.4 lakh leaves his account in three transfers. He calls his bank within the hour, calls 1930, and files online that evening. Two of the three transfers are frozen at the receiving bank. The bank's position on the third depends on whether he gave an OTP; even then, under the RBI framework, any transaction after the time he reported must be reversed.
RBI's July 2017 circular 'Customer Protection – Limiting Liability of Customers in Unauthorised Electronic Banking Transactions' creates three tiers. Zero liability: fraud due to the bank's negligence, or a third-party breach where the customer was not at fault and reported within three working days.
Limited liability: customer reports within four to seven working days, capped at ₹5,000 (basic savings), ₹10,000 (other savings, prepaid wallets, cards with limits up to ₹5 lakh) or ₹25,000 (cards above ₹5 lakh and current accounts above a threshold). Beyond seven days: bank policy. The bank must provide a 24x7 reporting channel, must credit the disputed amount as a shadow credit within ten working days, and must resolve within 90 days. The burden of proving customer negligence is on the bank.
Since 2025 the national cybercrime portal and the 1930 helpline can freeze funds in the chain of recipient accounts if you report fast.
The exact time you received the transaction alert and the time you reported; both matter Whether you shared an OTP, PIN or password; do not deny it if you did, but note that transactions after reporting are still the bank's liability Your complaint reference from the bank, from 1930, and the acknowledgment number from cybercrime.gov.in Whether the bank gave the shadow credit within ten working days The account type, for the limited-liability cap
Waiting to 'see if it comes back' before reporting. The three-day window is the whole protection. Also: reporting only to the police and not to the bank in writing.
The KYC-expiry, electricity-disconnection and 'digital arrest' scripts have hit Kerala pensioners and NRI households hard. Parents in Kerala who are called about an NRI child's account should hang up and call the child. Kerala Police's cyber helpline 1930 works statewide.
₹1,40,000 lost at 11 am Monday; bank informed 11:30 am; 1930 at noon. Zero liability tier. Bank must shadow-credit ₹1.4 lakh by the tenth working day and close the investigation within 90 days. If the bank claims OTP-sharing, only the transactions before 11:30 am are even arguable; anything after is the bank's.
If you knowingly transferred money to a fraudster (an 'investment' or 'part-time job' scam), that is an authorised transaction and the liability framework does not apply. The 1930 freeze still can. Report anyway.
Report to the bank through its 24x7 channel, then in writing; note the time Call 1930; file at cybercrime.gov.in with transaction IDs Day 11 with no shadow credit, or rejection: RBI Ombudsman
My UPI or ATM transaction failed but the money left my account. What now? The bank ignored my complaint. Who is above the bank?
Loans & bank disputes
005/2017-18, 6 July 2017, on limiting customer liability · National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and 1930 helpline · Your bank's board-approved customer liability policy Last checked: 22 August 2026. Rates, limits and whether you may qualify change. Confirm with the official source before you act. Ask Kerala Rising: Use only general, non-identifying facts. Do not send bank, health, legal, property, identity, account, transaction, or loan documents, screenshots, numbers, OTPs, or passwords over WhatsApp.
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This page is general orientation, not personal insurance, investment, medical, legal, lending, tax, employment, or professional advice. Rules, rates, deadlines, and decisions can change. Confirm the current position with the named official source and use a licensed or qualified professional where your situation requires one. Kerala Rising does not decide whether you may qualify, approve claims, or promise an outcome.