Money Lost to Cyber ​​Fraud? The MRM Portal Can Help—Here’s How to Claim It

You can now submit a refund request via the MRM portal to recover money lost to cyber fraud without leaving your home. Certain conditions must be met for this process. Here is the easy way to reclaim your money using the MRM portal.

Incidents of cyber fraud are constantly rising these days. People are frequently defrauded through schemes ranging from OTP-based scams to "digital arrests." In such cases, if a complaint is filed promptly and the defrauded amount is successfully frozen in the accused's bank account, the process of recovering the money can now be much easier.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has launched a new sub-portal called the Mobile Restoration Module (MRM) for victims of cybercrime. Through this, individuals can request a refund for their lost funds from the comfort of their homes. However, a refund via MRM will only be processed if the defrauded amount has already been frozen in the accused's bank account. Let’s look at how to claim money lost to cyber fraud using the MRM portal.

What is the Mobile Restoration Module?

The Ministry of Home Affairs' Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) has launched the MRM site. Its objective is to spare cybercrime victims the hassle of making rounds to various government offices and banks to secure a refund. Individuals can submit refund requests on this portal from home. MRM has been integrated into the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP). It can be used by individuals who filed a complaint via the 1930 helpline or the NCRP portal immediately after the fraud occurred and whose defrauded funds were successfully frozen.

What are the refund categories on MRM?

There are three categories for refunds on MRM. If the frozen amount is less than ₹50,000, there is no need to upload a copy of an FIR or court order; the money can be refunded directly based on the police complaint. In another scenario, if the total frozen amount across various bank accounts exceeds ₹50,000 but no single account holds more than ₹50,000, an FIR and a court order are not required. However, if the frozen amount in any single bank account exceeds ₹50,000, it is mandatory to file an FIR and obtain a court order before submitting a refund request.

How to file a claim on the MRM Portal:

1. Keep the bank account number, a digital copy of the PAN card, the 14-digit complaint number, and the registered mobile number ready for the refund request.

2. Visit the MRM portal, select 'Citizen Login,' and log in using the OTP sent to the mobile number registered with the NCRP.

3. Next, go to 'Raise Refund Request' and enter the 14-digit Complaint ID.

4. The frozen amount will appear on the screen. After uploading the PAN card, enter the bank account number and IFSC code. A digital copy of the court order can also be uploaded if required.

5. Check the declaration box and submit the request. The portal will then generate a Unique Request ID starting with 'MR2026,' which can be used to track the status of the refund request.