How to file a cyber crime complaint online in India

To file a cyber crime complaint online in India, go to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at cybercrime.gov.in, choose Register a Complaint and then Other Cyber Crime, sign in with your name and an Indian mobile number using a one-time password, pick the closest category, describe what happened and upload your evidence. You get a complaint reference number by SMS and email to track it. For course piracy, you can also go straight to a police station or cyber police station and ask for an FIR, because knowingly infringing copyright is a cognizable offence.

Is course piracy a cyber crime?

In everyday language, yes: it happens online, and the portal handles "online and social media crimes". In law, the offence is usually copyright infringement under the Copyright Act, 1957. Knowingly infringing copyright, or helping someone do it, is punishable under Section 63 with six months to three years in prison and a fine, and the Supreme Court held in 2022 that the offence is cognizable. Our guide to copyright infringement penalties in India covers the sections in detail.

"Cognizable" is the word that matters for a complaint: police can register an FIR and start investigating without first getting a magistrate's order. If someone also broke into your LMS or took over a staff account, other offences may apply; describe exactly what happened and let the police frame the sections.

The national cyber crime portal, step by step

1. Open cybercrime.gov.in, choose Register a Complaint, then Other Cyber Crime. The Women/Children section is meant for crimes such as sexual abuse material, not for piracy.
   
   
2. Accept the conditions and sign in with your name and an Indian mobile number. The portal sends a one-time password that is valid for 30 minutes.
   
   
3. Choose the category and sub-category that fit best. Piracy on Telegram, YouTube or websites usually sits closest to online and social media crime.
   
   
4. Describe the incident: what was copied, where (every URL), when you found it, who you suspect (channel names, phone numbers, UPI IDs used to sell your course) and any money lost.
   
   
5. Upload evidence such as screenshots, videos and documents. The portal generates a hash value for each file, a fingerprint showing it hasn't changed since you uploaded it.
   
   
6. Submit. You receive an SMS and an email with a complaint reference number.
   
   

According to the portal's FAQ, complaints are handled by the police of the State or Union Territory you select, so choose the state where your institute is based unless your lawyer advises otherwise. The national helpline, 1930, is for reporting online financial fraud; you don't need it for piracy unless money was stolen.

Filing a copyright FIR at a police station

You don't have to use the portal. Under Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), you can give information about a cognizable offence to the officer in charge of any police station, irrespective of where the offence was committed. You can do it orally, in writing or by electronic communication, which you must then sign within three days, and you are entitled to a free copy of the FIR. Many cities also have dedicated cyber police stations.

How to write a complaint police can act on

1. Who you are: the institute, your role and your contact details.
   
   
2. What you own: the course, batch and lectures, when they were made, and proof of ownership.
   
   
3. What happened: where your content appeared, with every URL and date, and whether it is being sold and at what price.
   
   
4. Who is involved, as far as you know: channel names and handles, phone numbers, UPI IDs, and any account your visible watermarks or login records point to.
   
   
5. The loss: refunds, affected enrolments or a clearly labelled estimate.
   
   
6. The sections you believe apply: Section 63 of the Copyright Act, and Section 65A if protection was circumvented. Police frame the final charges.
   
   
7. What you are asking for: an FIR, requests to platforms for account details, preservation of data and removal of the content.
   
   

Keep the complaint to about two pages and attach an index of your evidence.

What to attach: evidence that holds up

• Proof of ownership: course pages, recording dates, faculty agreements and any copyright registration certificate.
  
  
• The leaked copies and your originals, with their hash values.
  
  
• Screenshots and screen recordings that show URLs, dates and channel details.
  
  
• Payment evidence if your course was sold: UPI screenshots and IDs.
  
  
• Watermark findings, or account and login records, that point to the account involved.
  
  
• Your emails to platforms and their replies.
  
  

When electronic records are produced as evidence, they need a certificate under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, which replaced Section 65B of the Evidence Act. The certificate has a part for the party producing the record and a part for an expert, and records hash values. See our guide to Section 65B / BSA 63 evidence certificates.

Tracking your complaint

On the portal, choose Track your Complaint and enter your acknowledgement number. A complaint filed under Other Cyber Crime can be withdrawn until it is converted into an FIR. If the response isn't appropriate, the portal's Contact Us page lists a nodal cyber cell officer and a grievance officer, with email addresses, for each State and Union Territory; write to them and quote your acknowledgement number. For an FIR, stay in touch with the investigating officer and ask what they need from you.

What police can ask Telegram and other platforms for

• Documents and data. Under BNSS Section 94, a court or the officer in charge of a police station can, by written order in physical or electronic form, require anyone to produce a document or electronic communication needed for an investigation.
  
  
• Information from intermediaries. The IT Rules, 2021 require platforms to provide information or assistance to lawfully authorised agencies within 72 hours of a written order.
  
  
• Takedowns. Since November 2025, police intimations asking a platform to remove unlawful content under the IT Rules must come from a specially authorised officer not below Deputy Inspector General rank and must name the legal basis and exact URLs. Since February 2026, platforms must act on such intimations within three hours. See IT Act Section 79 and the IT Rules.
  
  
• What platforms say they share. Telegram's privacy policy says that on a valid order from judicial authorities confirming someone is a suspect, it may disclose that person's IP address and phone number. WhatsApp says it can't see the content of end-to-end encrypted messages.
  
  

Each platform runs its own legal review, so keep your own takedowns and record checks going in parallel; see reporting Telegram channels and the wider course leak response plan.

Key takeaways

• File on cybercrime.gov.in under Other Cyber Crime, or go straight to a police station; piracy under Section 63 is cognizable.
  
  
• Attach URLs, screenshots, hashes and proof of ownership, and certify electronic records under BSA Section 63.
  
  
• If a station won't register an FIR, write to the Superintendent of Police, then apply to the magistrate.
  
  
• Track with your acknowledgement number and escalate to your state's nodal or grievance officer.
  
  
• Police can require records from platforms, but keep your own takedowns running.
  
  

This is general information, not legal advice. For your situation, speak to a lawyer.

Frequently asked questions

What happens after cyber crime complaint?

A complaint filed on the national portal goes to the police of the State or Union Territory you selected. They review it and may contact you for more details or documents, and if it discloses a cognizable offence, it can be registered as an FIR. You get a reference number by SMS and email to track progress, and you can withdraw the complaint until it becomes an FIR.

How can I check my cyber crime complaint?

Go to cybercrime.gov.in, choose Track your Complaint and enter the acknowledgement number you received by SMS and email. Tracking works for complaints filed with a registered mobile number, under Report and Track or Other Cyber Crime, not for anonymous reports. If the response isn't appropriate, write to the nodal officer or grievance officer listed for your state on the portal's Contact Us page.

What is cyber crime complaint?

It is a report to the police about a crime committed using computers, phones or the internet, such as online fraud, hacking, harassment on social media or selling pirated content. In India you can file one online on the national portal run by the Ministry of Home Affairs, or in person at a police or cyber police station, where a cognizable offence should be registered as an FIR.

What happens after reporting cyber crime?

For you, the work continues. Keep your evidence unchanged and hashed, answer the investigating officer's questions and provide a certificate for electronic records when asked. Police may seek data from platforms, question suspects and, in cognizable cases, file a charge sheet in court. Meanwhile, keep filing platform takedowns and checking your own records, because an investigation doesn't remove copies from the internet.