Hyderabad Police | Hyderabad, April 23 (Maxim News): Hyderabad City Police on Thursday held a major bankers coordination meeting under Operation Octopus to curb cyber fraud and stop the misuse of bank accounts by organised crime networks. Hyderabad City Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar chaired the conclave and urged banks to treat customer safety as a top priority.

The meeting brought together 75 representatives from 45 public and private sector banks. Senior officials, including Additional Commissioner M. Srinivasulu and RBI Regional Director Chinmoy Kumar, also attended.

Police said recent investigations exposed mule account networks that route stolen money through fake or fraudulently opened bank accounts. Therefore, the department launched Operation Octopus in two phases and arrested officials allegedly linked to suspicious account openings.

Hyderabad Police | Operation Octopus Focus on Safe Banking

The Commissioner proposed a new two point performance model for branches. First, no customer linked to a branch should become a cyber fraud victim. Second, no mule account should be opened at any branch.

He said banks must stop judging branches only by the number of new accounts opened. Instead, branches should be rated on fraud prevention, strict KYC checks and customer protection.

Officials also advised banks to act quickly when fraud victims report incidents. Customers must be guided to call 1930 and use the national cybercrime portal.

Police asked banks to issue SMS alerts, app warnings and branch notices about scams such as fake investment offers, trading fraud and digital arrest threats.

Foreign Based Syndicates Target India

During the meeting, police explained that many fraud syndicates now operate from countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Dubai. These gangs allegedly use local intermediaries and insiders to obtain bank accounts for illegal transfers.

Hyderabad Police asked banks to use advanced tools to detect suspicious accounts in real time. They also sought stricter audits, maker checker systems and staff accountability.

The Commissioner Sajjanar warned that any employee found helping cyber criminals should face strict action and blacklisting across the banking sector.

He said Operation Octopus will continue until organised cyber fraud networks are fully dismantled. (Maxim News)