How to Recover Money Lost to Matrimonial Fraud in India

By Advocate Panchanand Shaw, Bar Council of West Bengal · Published 2 Nov 2026 · Online fraud

Money lost to matrimonial fraud is recovered by freezing the beneficiary account through 1930 and the bank, pursuing a cheating case under section 318(4) of the BNS, 2023, and, where the amount justifies the cost, filing a civil suit for recovery against the person's assets in India.

Money lost to matrimonial fraud is recovered through three parallel routes, and the order in which you start them matters more than the effort you put into any one. The first is a freeze: call 1930 and report to the bank so that the beneficiary account can be marked before the funds are withdrawn. The second is a criminal complaint registered under section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for cheating under section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The third is a civil claim for recovery of the amount, which is the only route that ends in a decree you can execute against the person's assets.

No route guarantees the money back. What decides the result is how quickly the transfer was reported, whether the receiving account still holds a balance, and whether the person behind the profile can be identified at all. A victim who reports within twenty-four hours has a real chance of a freeze. A victim who reports after three months is usually left with a criminal case and no funds to attach. Understanding that arithmetic early is what stops people from spending the first week writing long emails to a matrimonial platform that cannot return a rupee.

Why matrimonial fraud money is hard to get back

The structure of the fraud explains the difficulty. Unlike a card fraud, where the bank's own authentication logs show that the customer did not authorise the charge, a matrimonial fraud usually involves a payment the victim made voluntarily. The bank sees a completed transfer authorised by the account holder's own credentials. From the bank's side there is no unauthorised transaction at all — there is a person who chose to send money to another person.

That is why the RBI's July 2017 direction on customer protection, which limits liability for unauthorised electronic transactions, does not by itself solve a matrimonial fraud. The direction governs transactions that were not authorised by the customer. Where the customer pressed the button, the question is not liability under that circular but whether the recipient obtained the money by cheating. The remedy then lies in the criminal case and in a civil suit, not in a bank chargeback — although a chargeback can still be attempted where the payment was made through a card or a payment gateway on a false representation, and where the acquirer's dispute rules allow a fraud claim within the stated window.

The second difficulty is identification. A matrimonial profile can be operated from another state or another country, with a borrowed photograph, a rented SIM and a mule account. The police can seek the platform's records, the telecom operator's subscriber details and the bank's know-your-customer file, but each of those is a separate request routed through a separate process. Recovery speed is therefore directly tied to how much identifying material the complainant supplies in the first complaint.

The law that applies to the money

Cheating and dishonest inducement fall under section 318(4) of the BNS, 2023, punishable with imprisonment up to seven years and fine. Where money was handed over for a stated purpose and misappropriated, section 316 of the BNS on criminal breach of trust applies, and it is often the better charge where the person was trusted with funds for wedding expenses or a joint purchase. Where documents or an electronic record were fabricated to sustain the proposal, sections 336 and 340 of the BNS apply. Conspiracy, where several people ran the profile and the collection, falls under section 61 of the BNS. Criminal intimidation, when the person threatens the complainant after being confronted, falls under section 351 of the BNS.

Where the deception ran through a computer resource — a matrimonial site, a messaging app, a payment link — section 66D of the IT Act, 2000 covers cheating by personation, and section 66C covers the use of another person's identity features. Section 66 of the IT Act covers the computer-related offence itself, and where a communication device was used to send deceptive messages, section 66A does not exist any longer and should never be cited; the correct provisions are sections 66C and 66D, read with the BNS.

Two procedural provisions matter for recovery. Section 175(3) of the BNSS, 2023 allows a magistrate to direct investigation where the police decline to register the complaint. Section 63 of the BSA, 2023 requires a certificate for electronic records, and without that certificate the screenshots and chats you rely on can be rejected at the evidence stage. On the civil side, a suit for recovery of money paid on a failed consideration lies under the general law of contract and unjust enrichment, with limitation running from the date of the last payment.

Step one: stop the money before you build the case

Call 1930 within the hour. Give the transaction reference, the amount, the date and the beneficiary account or UPI ID. The helpline logs a cyber fraud report and routes it to the bank and the payment system. This is the only step that can actually stop the money, and it is the one most victims delay.
Call the bank's fraud line and ask for a lien. Ask specifically for the beneficiary account to be flagged and for the transaction to be disputed as a fraudulent inducement. Note the reference number and the name of the person you spoke to.
Send a written complaint to the bank's nodal officer. Email is acceptable, but a written letter with acknowledgement is better. List each transaction separately. Ask for the beneficiary's account details to be preserved, because those details are what the police will need.
Do not send more money. Requests for "clearance charges", "customs", "registration fees" or "court fees" after the first payment are the standard continuation of the same fraud. Every additional payment increases the loss and reduces the freeze's value.
Report the profile to the platform's grievance officer. Ask for the profile to be preserved and for the registration details to be retained. Platforms cannot return money, but they hold the IP logs and the identity verification records that the police will request.

Step two: build the criminal complaint

File on cybercrime.gov.in with the same facts you gave on the helpline, then file a written complaint at the police station having jurisdiction. The complaint should be chronological and documentary. It should state the profile, the promise, each demand and each payment, the total loss, and the date the person stopped responding. Attach the bank statements, the transaction references, the chats, the profile screenshots with the URL and date, and the certificate under section 63 of the BSA for the electronic records.

If the station does not register an FIR, the remedy is an application to the magistrate under section 175(3) of the BNSS. In West Bengal the complaint is filed where the offence was committed or where the consequence occurred, and the magistrate's direction to investigate is the usual corrective. Once the FIR is registered, the investigating officer can seek the platform's records, the subscriber details for the phone numbers used, and the bank's KYC records for the receiving account. Those three requests are what convert a story into an identifiable accused.

Step three: pursue the money in parallel

Route	What it can achieve	Realistic timing	Main limitation
1930 helpline and bank freeze	Freezing the beneficiary balance before withdrawal	Hours to a few days	Only works while funds remain
Police complaint and FIR	Investigation, identification, prosecution	Weeks to months	Does not by itself return money
Restoration under the BNSS	Court-ordered return of seized money or property	Depends on seizure and trial stage	Requires money to have been seized
Civil suit for recovery	A decree executable against assets	Months to years	Depends on the defendant having assets
Chargeback through card or gateway	Reversal of a card or gateway payment	Weeks	Strict dispute windows and evidence rules

The criminal case and the civil suit are not alternatives. The criminal case identifies and punishes; the civil suit recovers. Where money has been seized by the police and is lying in a bank account or a treasury, the criminal court has power under the BNSS to order its return to the person entitled to it, and an application at the right stage is often the fastest way to get the principal back without waiting for trial to end. Where the money has already been withdrawn and moved, only a decree against the person's assets helps.

What decides whether you actually recover

The time gap. Money that is reported within a day is often still sitting in the beneficiary account. Money reported after a month has usually passed through two or three accounts.

The number of intermediaries. A direct transfer to a named account is traceable. A transfer into a mule account that was opened with borrowed documents and emptied within minutes is much harder, because by the time the request reaches the bank the balance is zero.

Whether the person can be identified. A verified profile, a phone number registered in the suspect's name, an address used for delivery, a video call recording — any one of these can anchor the investigation. A profile with a stock photograph and a disposable number gives the police very little to work with.

The strength of the promise. Courts distinguish between a promise that was false when made and a relationship that broke down later. Messages that show a wedding date being fixed, families being introduced and money being demanded against that date are far stronger than a general allegation of betrayal.

Mistakes that cost victims the money

Reporting to the platform and waiting. A platform's grievance process is not a recovery mechanism. Report it, then go to 1930 and the police on the same day.
Confronting the suspect before reporting. The confrontation tells the person exactly how much you know and gives them time to empty the account and delete the profile.
Deleting the chats. The conversation is the proof of inducement. Preserve it, and keep the device unchanged until the certificate under section 63 of the BSA is prepared.
Filing a civil suit first and treating the criminal case as optional. Without a police investigation the defendant's identity and bank records are much harder to obtain.
Letting limitation run. A civil claim for money paid on a false promise has a limitation period, and it starts from the payment, not from the day you realised you had been deceived.

Recovery in these cases is rarely a single decisive action. It is a freeze placed early, a complaint drafted precisely, and a civil claim filed before the assets disappear.

When to involve a lawyer

A lawyer is not needed to dial 1930 or to file the portal complaint, and those should never wait for a consultation. Legal help becomes valuable at three points: when the police refuse to register the FIR and an application under section 175(3) of the BNSS has to be argued; when the amount justifies a civil suit and the pleading has to be drafted to survive a limitation objection; and when the criminal case and the civil claim have to be sequenced so that one does not undermine the other. If the person has been traced and arrested, the bail stage is also worth advice, because the conditions imposed at bail often determine whether any money comes back.

For readers in Kolkata and across West Bengal, the criminal complaint is filed locally and the civil suit follows the ordinary pecuniary and territorial rules; the City Sessions Court and Bankshall Court handle the trial stage for the criminal matter. If you want a view on what your documents support before you file, the office can be reached through the contact page. Background on how these matters are handled is set out under cyber crime lawyer in Kolkata, and where a recovery suit is being considered alongside the criminal case, the material on civil litigation explains how the two tracks fit together.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I recover money lost to matrimonial fraud?

Call 1930 and report to the bank immediately so the beneficiary account can be frozen, then file a cheating complaint under section 318(4) of the BNS, 2023, and file a civil suit for recovery where the amount and the accused's assets justify the cost and delay.

Does the RBI's zero liability rule apply to matrimonial fraud?

Usually not. The RBI's July 2017 direction covers unauthorised electronic transactions, but a matrimonial fraud payment is authorised by the customer using their own credentials. The remedy lies in the cheating case and a civil recovery suit, not in a bank refund under that circular.

Can the bank freeze the fraudster's account?

The bank can act on a 1930 report and mark the beneficiary account, but only while funds remain in it. Freezes are time-sensitive and depend on the request reaching the bank before the money is withdrawn or moved onward to another account.

How long does recovery take in a matrimonial fraud case?

A freeze can happen within days if the fraud is reported quickly. A criminal case takes months to years to reach trial. A civil suit for recovery usually takes longer still, and its value depends on whether the defendant has identifiable assets in India.

Is a civil suit necessary if a criminal case is filed?

Not always, but the two do different things. The criminal case punishes the accused and can produce a compensation order, while a civil suit produces a decree that can be executed against assets. Large claims usually need both, pleaded consistently.

What if the accused has left India?

Recovery becomes much harder. A freeze only works on funds still held in Indian accounts, and enforcing a decree abroad depends on reciprocity and on the defendant holding assets there. The criminal case can still proceed, but the money is often not recoverable.

Information for general guidance only and not legal advice. Provisions cited follow the Information Technology Act 2000, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023.

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