Haryana: Timely reporting key to combat cybercrimes, says ADGP

Asking banks to strengthen their banking security systems against online frauds, Haryana additional director general of police (ADGP- cyber) OP Singh said that cybercrimes should be reported by victims at the earliest, at least within 14 hours.

The police officer said that in most cases, victims take an average of 14 hours to report cybercrimes and sometimes up to 38 hours, weakening the chances of recovery as fraudsters quickly transfer the defrauded amount to fake bank accounts.

“Our data shows a concerning situation in the reporting of cybercrimes and the response of banks,” ADGP (cyber) said appealing banks to improve their response mechanisms to cybercrime reports from citizens. “Though police are alerting banks about fraud without delay, slow response of banks in blocking the defrauded amount is alarming,” he added.

The police officer said that an analysis conducted by the cyber crime agency of Haryana Police has revealed that people usually report cyber fraud, after more than 14 hours have passed since its occurrence. He added due to the slow response of banks, there was a delay of up to 5-11 hours in blocking the transferred amount.

He said the reports of frauds amounting to ₹27 crore were lodged for immediate action by banks. However, only about ₹7 crore could be successfully blocked, meaning that 75% of the reported amount couldn’t be blocked due to delays on the part of banks, the police officer said.

Singh stated that after registering a complaint of cyber fraud on the cybercrime.gov.in portal, police immediately alert banks. However, banks take about 5-11 hours to take action after receiving the alert. This delay results in fraudulently transferred funds being withdrawn from ATMs or used for shopping.

The senior police officer said, “At the first level of complaint, banks take five hours to act, while when fraudsters transfer the amount to the next bank, it takes them 11 hours to respond. Data analysis clearly shows that while it takes the police an average of eight minutes to report cyber fraud to banks, nodal officers of banks take a considerable amount of time to act on the alerts sent.”

He said that in any suspicious situation, people must immediately call 1930 and confirm the transactions with the bank.

Referring to this “alarming situation” in reporting cybercrimes, the ADGP (cyber) Singh emphasised the need for banks to work promptly on their response to online frauds.

He said it is the responsibility of the cyber police to thoroughly investigate cases, verify transactions, and then immediately restore the “hold” bank accounts. He said district police should ensure that reports were reviewed daily, and if transactions were correct, the “hold” should be lifted promptly.