How to Report Cybercrime in Nepal (and Recover Your Money)

Quick answer: Report the crime to the Nepal Police Cyber Bureau — file online by emailing the complaint form to cyberbureau.nepalpolice.gov.np or walk into any district police office. If money left your account, call your bank or wallet (eSewa, Khalti) immediately and ask them to freeze the receiving account. Speed is everything — there is no automatic refund in Nepal.

What to do in 3 steps

1. Call your bank or wallet right now. Before anything else, phone your bank, eSewa or Khalti and report the transaction as fraud. Ask them to flag or hold the receiving account. The faster you call — ideally within minutes — the better the chance the money is still sitting in the other account and can be held.
2. File a complaint with the Nepal Police Cyber Bureau. Download the relevant complaint form (online financial fraud, hacked account, obscene content, etc.) from the Cyber Bureau site and email it with your ID to [email protected], or submit it in person. Since a 2023 directive you can register a cybercrime complaint at any district or local police office in the country — you do not have to travel to Kathmandu.
3. Preserve every piece of evidence. Do not delete the chats, emails or payment messages. Take clear screenshots showing dates, URLs, phone numbers, account numbers and transaction IDs before anything disappears or you are blocked.

How recovery actually works

There is no button that reverses a fraudulent transfer in Nepal. Recovery is a manual, time-sensitive process. When you report quickly, your bank or the Cyber Bureau can contact the receiving bank or wallet provider and request that the destination account be frozen while the money is still there. If the scammer has already cashed out — often within minutes through layered accounts or agents — there is usually nothing left to recover, which is why most stolen funds are never returned. The Cyber Bureau investigates and can pursue the offender under the Electronic Transactions Act, but that is a criminal case, not a guaranteed refund. Your single biggest lever is the gap between the moment you realise you have been scammed and the moment the bank acts on your call.

What to have ready

• A copy of your citizenship, national ID, passport or birth certificate (the Bureau requires identity proof on the complaint form).
• The exact transaction details — date, time, amount, your account or wallet number, and the recipient's account, wallet ID or phone number.
• Transaction IDs, reference numbers and SMS or app confirmations from the bank, eSewa or Khalti.
• Screenshots of every chat, email, ad, profile or website involved, showing URLs and timestamps.
• Any phone numbers, social media handles or links the scammer used.
• A short written timeline of what happened, in order.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get my money back? Sometimes, but only if you act fast. There is no automatic refund. If police or your bank can freeze the receiving account before the scammer withdraws, the funds may be returned. Once the money is cashed out, recovery is rare.

Do I have to go to Kathmandu to file? No. Since a 2023 directive, you can register a cybercrime complaint at any district or local police office in Nepal. The Cyber Bureau in Bhotahiti, Kathmandu also accepts complaints directly and by email.

What if I have no proof of who did it? File anyway. Investigators can trace bank accounts, phone numbers and IP addresses you cannot see. Bring whatever you have — even a single transaction record and screenshot helps the case.

Sources

• Nepal Police Cyber Bureau — Report Cyber Crime (complaint forms, ID requirement, district/local police filing)
• Nepal Police Cyber Bureau — official site (contact numbers, toll-free line, email)
• The Kathmandu Post — "Nepal recorded 52 daily cybercrime cases last fiscal" (18,926 cases; 7,723 financial-fraud cases, 40.82%)