Cyberabad Police meets bankers to strengthen cyber-crime coordination
HYDERABAD: The Cyberabad Metropolitan Police on November 24, 2025, convened a coordination meeting at the Cyberabad Commissioner’s Office auditorium, bringing together bankers from across its jurisdiction. The session aimed to deepen cooperation between banks and police, shore up response times to cyber-fraud complaints and resolve systemic delays affecting investigations.
Cyber fraud surge raises alarm
Cyberabad Commissioner of Police Avinash Mohanty said cyber fraud has emerged as a grave threat, with many citizens losing substantial amounts through online scams, fake investment schemes and pre-launch offers. “Several victims have lost their life savings, pushing families into severe financial distress,” he told the gathering. He warned that in terms of financial damage, cybercrime now outweighs traditional offences such as robbery or snatching.
Mohanty urged all banks including State Bank of India (SBI) and others to establish centralised cyber-cells. The objective, he said, is “faster handling of complaints” and timely redressal for victims. He appealed to the public to remain cautious, verify investment offers carefully and report suspicious activity immediately.
Bankers pressed on freeze, defreeze, KYC protocols
Officials raised concern over banks’ delays in responding to official requests for account statements, KYC documents and other data crucial for investigations. Slow execution of freeze instructions, delayed confirmation of freeze statuses and abnormal lag in handling defreeze requests were singled out. Banks were reminded that once an account is frozen, no debit transactions should occur and any attempted activity must be reported immediately to police.
Banks were instructed to provide transaction data in Excel format, with mandatory fields such as narration, transaction ID, debit/credit details and running balance. Beneficiary names must match official bank records to prevent discrepancies. The need for coordination on multiple freeze orders and stricter scrutiny of suspicious transactions — especially involving mule accounts was also emphasised.
Dedicated cyber-crime desks, strict turnaround times required
Every bank was asked to set up a dedicated Cyber-Crime Response Desk, maintain up-to-date nodal-officer contact details (plus backup contacts), and ensure all requests related to freeze/defreeze actions, statements and KYC are addressed within 1–3 days. Branch staff were urged to undergo training on cyber-crime coordination protocols, and relationship-manager details for corporate accounts must be shared to streamline communication.
Police officers present at meeting
The meeting saw participation from top Cyberabad officers including Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) N. Koti Reddy (Medchal), Ritiraj (Madhapur), Yogesh Goutam (Rajendranagar) along with DCPs for Cyber Crimes, Crimes, Special Operation Team (SOT) and other key officers including Y. V. S. Sudheendra (Cyber Crimes), A. Muthyam Reddy (Crimes) and P. Shoban Kumar (SOT).
The Commissioner concluded that tighter coordination between banks and police is critical to protecting customer interests, strengthening financial security and ensuring swift, effective handling of cyber-crime investigations. Strict compliance, he said, will reduce delays, enable prompt action and safeguard the integrity of banking operations.
