I want to address what happened to Neeraj and me last week. It was shocking and disheartening for us too. But today, we want to talk about what actually happened and more importantly, what we’re going to do about it. On March 21, we were taken into police custody over a fraud complaint. Three days later, on March 24, a Thane court granted us bail, finding that no prima facie case was made. The fraud at the centre of this complaint was carried out through a fake website—"coindcx.pro"—by impersonators with no connection to our platform, systems, or CoinDCX. No money moved through CoinDCX. No transaction occurred on our exchange. The complainant himself confirmed in court that he did not know us and had never met us. Our experience was deeply unsettling. Not because we doubted the facts, but because it revealed something painfully clear: the ecosystem we operate in still lacks the tools to distinguish between those building responsibly and those exploiting it. Think about the precedent this sets: if a scammer uses your brand, name, or face on a fake website and defrauds someone, you could be arrested. Not the scammer. You. This could happen to any founder, any business. That has to change. So, CoinDCX will lead that change. Not with words, but with action. Today, we’re announcing the Digital Suraksha Network (D.S.N.), a ₹100 crore commitment from CoinDCX to build the cyber safety infrastructure India’s digital finance ecosystem desperately needs. This isn’t just a crypto issue—it’s a problem for any business with a digital footprint. Here’s what we’re building: → 24x7 WhatsApp helpline: free for everyone to verify links, platforms, and offers before transacting. → Open Fraud Intelligence API: we’ve tracked 1,200+ fraudulent websites impersonating CoinDCX. Soon, we’ll share this data via an open API and invite every exchange, fintech, bank, and lender to contribute—creating a shared immune system for digital finance. → Cyber Safety Infrastructure for Law Enforcement: the D.S.N. will fund training for state cybercrime cells on blockchain forensics and digital asset tracing. → “Caution Before Transaction”: a nationwide initiative to equip every Indian with tools for safe digital participation. No single company can solve this. Fraud networks are sophisticated, cross-border, and evolve daily—now even using AI to evade detection. But someone must fix this problem at the root. We’re committing ₹100 crore because the ecosystem cannot wait. I urge every platform, every regulator, and every Indian who participates in digital finance to join us. We want to ensure that founders in India can build with confidence, not fear.
Piyush K.
2w
This is deeply unfortunate and honestly quite unsettling to read. What you and Neeraj went through should not happen to any founder building in good faith. Situations like this expose a serious gap in how accountability is understood and enforced in our digital ecosystem. At the same time, it’s commendable how you’ve chosen to respond — not just by clarifying the facts, but by taking concrete steps to address the root problem. The Digital Suraksha Network is a meaningful move. Especially the idea of an Open Fraud Intelligence API — if adopted widely, it can become critical infrastructure for preventing exactly these kinds of incidents. This clearly goes beyond crypto. It’s a broader issue of digital trust, identity misuse, and systemic safeguards. Really hope the ecosystem — platforms, regulators, and law enforcement — comes together to support and scale this effort. And once again, sorry that you had to go through this. No one building responsibly should face such consequences.
Avik Ashar
2w
Was terrible to see how the system treated you, and love how you've turned that experience into something positive 💪
What you and Neeraj went through is something no founder should face. The fact that you're turning that experience into infrastructure for the entire ecosystem that's exactly the kind of leadership India's digital finance space needs right now. The Open Fraud Intelligence API alone could change how the entire industry detects and responds to impersonation attacks. Rooting for DSN. 🙏
Sumit, being arrested for fraud you didn't commit, then committing ₹100 crore to fix the system that allowed it: that's a response, not a PR move. What strikes me most isn't the number. It's the framing: a shared fraud intelligence infrastructure across exchanges, fintechs, and banks. Every platform has been solving this alone. That's exactly why it hasn't been solved. 28 lakh complaints. 55,000 FIRs. The system catches money sometimes. It rarely catches people. Any plans to extend the Fraud Intelligence API beyond crypto to insurance, lending, and payments? Because impersonation doesn't respect category boundaries. Rooting for DSN.
Sumit Gupta, this is good, but what you guys suffered from is a structural flaw, far beyond this. It's the flaw in our Police system itself. Most of the times you will encounter police personnel who have no idea of what has happened or is happening and on top of that they are least interested in the facts. More often than not, they lack the ability to comprehend the facts as well. They are only concerned about getting their job done, knowing fully well that nothing will ever happen to them, even if they make gross mistakes, which harm someone, personally and socially. And then it's the common saying that if we are wrong, you have the courts. The point is why should it even need to go to court. Why can't the police personnel apply their minds. I don't have the answer to that and I don't want to venture there either. The Supreme Court has cried itself hoarse, saying that the police should stop this nuisance of thrusting everything to the courts, but it continues unabated... Doing something in this space would be a lot more effective in my opinion. A simple helpline for people can do wonders...think about it.
This is a powerful step in the right direction. What stands out is not just the ₹100 crore commitment, but the intent to build a trust infrastructure for the entire digital ecosystem. As a digital marketing agency called EVOLVRYX Digital, we see this problem daily brands investing heavily in growth, only to have their reputation and customer trust compromised by impersonators and fraudulent funnels. Growth without protection is no longer sustainable. In the near future, we believe every serious business will need not just marketing, but real-time trust verification systems embedded into their ecosystem. That’s exactly where we see things heading and as we scale, we’re actively working toward introducing AI-driven solutions that help businesses grow securely, not just quickly. Kudos to the team for addressing a problem that impacts far beyond crypto this is about the future of digital trust in India.
I will echo Shyam’s point. Enterprises invest in brand and phishing security ie tracking and inverting campaigns that target their customers. There are companies who provide such tools, including the one I work at. Also, make sure your website has a front and center, easily found, “how you know you are working with us” snapshots and guidelines, have some obvious cues built into the experience that would raise alarm if missing, and a “contact us if you believe this is phishing” page. That will help limit customers submitting FIRs. Second, get a legal team. The reason these issues don’t happen in the Americas or Western Europe is legal precedent and knowing the law, and every large business having lawyers. The effort to stand up a multi-enterprise security network is worthwhile, but unlikely to solve the broader cultural issue: requires users to not get scammed, and for police and courts to recognize precedent. Invest in the latter ie take a portion of that 100Cr and start a lobbyist firm with other people from the sector to fix legal hurdles that are designed from when the telegraph was cutting edge tech.
Strong initiative 👏 But the real shift we need is from detection post the fraud to authenticity by design. Today, users are still expected to “pause & verify.” With the changing digital landscape systems should ensure that what’s real is cryptographically verifiable by default. Imagine every message, transaction, entity carrying a verifiable identity - where users and even AI agents can instantly validate authenticity without relying on manual checks. That’s when attacks like these become impossible. We need much broader and interoperable trust layer across fintech to prevent such incidents in the future.
Moumita Das
2w
The ₹100 Cr cyber ecosystem is ambitious, especially after your personal experience highlighting vulnerabilities in digital fin. Initiatives like the 24x7 WhatsApp helpline, Open Fraud Intelligence API, and cyber safety programs demonstrate strong intent to protect users.However, from an end-user perspective, a few critical thoughts emerged while reading your post. Scammers are rapidly adapting patterns of existing cyber ecosystems, & creating “unbreakable”attacks, including GPS spoofing, deepfake scams, app-based phishing,&cross-border operations. On average, an individual in India receives 3–4 fraud calls daily, even with DND registration. Over 1,200 fraudulent websites are tracked, yet scams continue to rise. Low internet literacy & awareness in rural areas (~250M users) may limit adoption, and cybercrime units may lack the capacity or skills to leverage these tools. International jurisdictional & compliance hurdles, along with uncertain participation by global fintechs, banks, and exchanges, may constrain shared intelligence. Operational limits include helpline capacity, data freshness, and contributor participation. Key question: With fraud escalating daily, will the ecosystem break the cycle and deliver real-time protection?
ZebPay•307 followers
2wYou’re running one of the biggest crypto exchange in India at that scale, basic domain hygiene is your first line of defense. If your brand is this big and you still haven’t bought up the obvious lookalike domains (coindcx.in / .pro / .app / .io etc.) and parked them with clear warnings, that’s a serious gap and complacency . It obviously won’t stop every scam, but it massively reduces the window for a ‘coindcx.pro’‑type fake site to operate, loot users.