Chandigarh : In order to enhance coordination between the police and bank authorities to prevent Cyber Financial frauds in the state as desired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Cyber Crime Division of Punjab Police has asked the banks to appoint a separate Nodal Officers for 1930 Cyber Helpline to ensure priority blocking of bank accounts and also for providing details regarding suspect bank accounts in timely manner.
The decision came during the coordination meeting conducted by ADGP Cyber Crime V Neeraja with representatives of several banks to reduce the response time of the Banks on complaints registered on CFCFRMS portal.
The meeting was organised on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav, which was attended by 17 officials from 11 leading banks including State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Punjab National Bank, Axis Bank, RBL Bank, Union Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Yes Bank, Indian Bank and IDFC First Bank. DIG Cyber Crime Nilambari Jagdale and DSP Cyber Crime Prabhjot Kaur were also present in the meeting.
ADGP V Neeraja said that Cyber Helpline 1930 is a Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS), which allows victims of cyber financial frauds to freeze their money in the accounts of the accused/suspects immediately after the registration of complaint on this helpline.
During the meeting, detailed discussions were held regarding the challenges being faced in tackling Cyber financial frauds and the procedure to expedite the processing of complaints filed via Cyber Crime helpline 1930, she said.
She said that banks have been requested to carry out awareness campaigns on Cyber Financial Frauds to sensitise people about reporting such cyber frauds on the 1930 Helpline number. Banks were also asked to prominently display 1930 helpline number on flex boards or posters within and outside of the banks, besides, promoting it on their official websites, she added.
The ADGP said that banks were also asked to cooperate with Punjab Police during investigation of cases by providing the UPI/Internet Banking logs, Bank statements, ATM Footage and KYC documents regarding suspect bank accounts in a time bound manner. Banks have also been directed to ensure physical verification of home addresses while opening fresh bank accounts to prevent opening of fake accounts, she said.
She said that till now, approximately Rs 20 crores has been freezed in suspect bank accounts through 1930 Helpline, out of which approximately Rs 1.5 Crore has been refunded to the victims with the help of State Legal Services Authority, Punjab.
Meanwhile, the officials of the Banks have assured to extend full cooperation to the law enforcement agency in preventing cyber fraudsters from causing financial fraud on innocent public and help during investigation of cases.