Press Releases

Reserve Bank of India has been periodically reiterating about the activities of unscrupulous elements using the name of RBI and defrauding the common public. These elements use fake letter heads of RBI, send emails impersonating as employees of RBI and lure people with fictitious offers / lottery winnings / remittance of cheap funds in foreign currency from abroad. Targeted public is made to part with money in the form of currency processing fee, foreign currency conv

It has come to the notice of the Bank that certain unscrupulous persons posing as RBI officials are sending electronic communication through fake email addresses and false letterheads, advising job aspirants to appear for tests/ interviews/ interactive sessions purportedly as a part of the recruitment exercise for appointment in the RBI. RBI clarifies that all recruitment related information, viz., advertisement, procedure for submitting application, schedule of exami

It has come to the notice of the Reserve Bank of India that a fake website of the Reserve Bank of India has been created with the URL www.indiareserveban.org by some unknown person(s). The layout of the fake website is similar to the original RBI website. The home page of the fake website also contains a provision for “Bank verification with online account holders” which appears to have been created with a fraudulent intent of obtaining personal and confidential banki

Attention of members of public is drawn to the Press Release issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on December 24, 2013, cautioning users, holders and traders of Virtual Currencies (VCs) including Bitcoins regarding the potential economic, financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security related risks associated in dealing with such VCs. Vide press release dated February 1, 2017, RBI has also clarified that it has not given any licence/authorisation

It has come to the notice of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that some Co-operative Societies are using the word “Bank” in their names. This is a violation of Section 7 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (As Applicable to Co-operative Societies) (the B.R.Act, 1949). It has also come to the notice of RBI that some Co-operative societies are accepting deposits from non-members / nominal members / associate members which tantamount to conducting banking business in violatio

The Reserve Bank of India – India’s central bank - will soon launch a public awareness campaign through SMSes to educate the members of the public about various banking regulations and facilities available to them. To begin with, the Reserve Bank will send messages cautioning the people against falling prey to unsolicited and fictitious offers received through emails/SMSes/phone calls. The caution messages will be sent from ‘RBISAY’ sender id. The Reserve Bank has bee

It has come to the notice of the Reserve Bank of India that some Co-operative Societies/primary co-operative credit societies are accepting deposits from non-members/nominal members / associate members. Members of the public are hereby informed that such co-operative societies have neither been issued any licence under Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (As Applicable to Cooperative Societies) nor are they authorized by the Reserve Bank of India for doing banking business.

The Reserve Bank of India has today advised the users of Pre-paid Payment Instruments (PPIs), including mobile and electronic wallets, that only non-bank entities authorised by RBI under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (the Act) can issue PPI wallets for purchase of goods and services from third parties and money transfer within India. Only permitted banks can issue PPI wallets which in addition to purchase of goods and services from third parties and mon

The Reserve Bank of India had cautioned the users, holders and traders of Virtual Currencies (VCs), including Bitcoins, about the potential financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security related risks that they are exposing themselves to, vide its press release dated December 24, 2013. The Reserve Bank of India advises that it has not given any licence / authorisation to any entity / company to operate such schemes or deal with Bitcoin or any virtual

It has come to the notice of the Reserve Bank of India that an app (application) is doing rounds on WhatsApp purportedly to facilitate checking of balance in customers' bank accounts. The application has an RBI logo with the title 'All Bank Balance Enquiry No' and has listed several banks with either a mobile number or call centre number. The Reserve Bank wishes to clarify that it has not developed any such application. Members of public are, therefore, advised to use

The Reserve Bank of India has cautioned the public against Multi-level Marketing (MLM) activities so that investors do not fall prey to unscrupulous entities. Explaining the functioning of these entities, the Reserve Bank stated that MLM/Chain Marketing/Pyramid Structure schemes promise easy or quick money upon enrolment of members. Income under such schemes majorly comes from enrolling more and more members from whom hefty subscription fees are taken rather than from

The Reserve Bank of India today issued one more alert to the public about the newest form of fraud perpetrated in its name - a credit card issued by fraudsters in the name of the Reserve Bank. Explaining the modus operandi, the Reserve Bank stated that the gullible member of the public is sent a credit card which allows withdrawal of money up to a certain limit, albeit a small sum, from a bank account. Having gained the confidence of the victim thus, the fraudster get

It has come to the notice of the Reserve Bank of India today that a fake website has been created at http://www.rbi-inonline.org/savings.html by some unknown persons offering various banking facilities and asking members of public to apply on-line for opening “RBI Savings Account”. The Reserve Bank clarifies that as India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India does not offer services offered by commercial banks, such as, savings bank account, current bank account o

It has come to the notice of the Reserve Bank of India that an email has been sent in its name from mail id: Reserve Bank Of India (no-reply@rbi.com) and signed by RBI, Security Team offering a 'new online security protection' called "Netsecured” to “reduce fraud and theft in various banking system…(and)… to enable all customer's online banking in all Indian Banks to get protected and Secured.” The Reserve Bank cautions members of public that it has not developed any

It has come to the notice of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that a fraudulent email has been sent and signed in its name as `Reserve Bank of India'. The mail has referred to provisions of Banking Regulation act, 1949 and Prevention of Money Laundering Rules, 2005 and informs bank account holders about the Reserve Bank setting up a new 24x7 Centralised Monitoring Centre to monitor financial transaction flow from the Internet Banking Accounts. The email then gives a li

The Reserve Bank of India has today reiterated that it never contacts the public via unsolicited phone calls or emails asking for money or any other type of personal information. The Reserve Bank does not maintain/give money/foreign currency or any other type of funds to individual or opens accounts for/in the name of individuals. The Reserve Bank has urged the public to remain alert and not to fall prey to frauds or scams perpetrated by individuals who impersonate to

The Reserve Bank of India has today advised members of public to immediately register a complaint with the local police/cyber crime authorities when they receive fictitious offers of money from abroad or if they are victims of such offers. It has also placed, on its website, the list of such nodal agencies with whom the public can register complaints. The Reserve Bank has, on several occasions in the past, cautioned the members of public against falling prey to fictit

It has come to the notice of the Reserve Bank of India that mail has been sent in its name "inviting bank customers to update their bank account details against online phishing". The Reserve Bank has clarified that it has NOT sent any such email. It has further clarified that the Reserve Bank or banks never issue communication asking for bank account details for any purpose. The Reserve Bank has appealed to members of public not to respond to such mails and not to sha