The same complaint, filed both ways
Fourteen steps, or four.
Nothing below is a redesign of a screen. The government already built the freeze, the lien, the liability rule and the claim. Almost none of it is ever explained to the person it exists for.
Filing a complaint
Both journeys drawn to the same scale. The length is the argument.
cybercrime.gov.in today
14 steps · 3 walls
- 1Find the right portalThree channels, and the citizen has to classify their own crime first
- 2Accept the termsBefore anything can be described
- 3Mobile number and OTPThe wall. Nothing exists until this clears
- 4Captcha
- 5Category and sub-categoryGovernment taxonomy, chosen by a person in distress
- 6Where and when
- 7Upload a national IDJPEG or PNG, 5 MB cap, discovered on rejection
- 8Complainant detailsName, father's name, address, PIN, all retyped every time
- 9Describe the incidentMinimum 200 characters. # $ @ ^ * ` ~ | ! are silently rejected
- 10Transaction details12-digit UTR, exact format
- 11Suspect details
- 12Upload evidence10 MB cap
- 13Preview and submit
- 14Receive a status word"Under Process", meaning never explained
This prototype
4 steps · saved from the first word
- 1Say or show what happenedOne sentence, spoken or typed. Or drop the receipt you already have
- 2Read what we understoodCategory, channel, urgency and amount, worked out and shown for correction
- 3Fill the gaps we still needThree or four specific questions, in plain language, in any order
- 4Read it and confirmThe verified number is asked for here: once, at the moment it legally matters
The ten steps that disappeared did not become somebody else's problem. They are derived, remembered from sign-up, or asked only when they actually apply.
What actually changed
7| Today | Here | |
|---|---|---|
| Steps to file | 14 | 4 |
| Asked before anything is saved | OTP, terms, captcha | Nothing |
| Complainant details | Every complaint | Once, at sign-up |
| If you stop halfway | Everything is lost | The case is already saved |
| Told about the 24-hour rule | Nowhere on the site | A clock on the case |
| Told the money can be returned | No | A second track, with the claim step |
| Without a smartphone | Not possible | Voice, or somebody files for you |
What is real, and what is staged
A prototype that hides its seams is not worth judging. This is the full list.
Real
- Postgres with row-level security; every case scoped to its owner
- SMS delivered to real handsets for sign-in and for consent
- One-time codes hashed, expiring, attempt-limited
- Complaint rules enforced server-side, as the portal enforces them
- Consent for filing on someone’s behalf, held by a database constraint
- Aadhaar checked against its own checksum, then discarded
- Official contacts, categories and limits transcribed from the portal
Simulated
- Government responses: no portal, police or bank system is connected
- Case data, which is synthetic and labelled wherever it appears
- The lien and the restoration request, which are real procedures we cannot perform
- Reading a screenshot, until an API key is attached
Anything simulated carries a stamp in the interface itself, not only on this page.