Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu chairs a review meeting on cybercrime at the Secretariat on Wednesday.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday directed officials to prepare an action plan to check cyber and financial crimes, with a special focus on the “golden hour” fund recovery mechanism to protect victims from online fraud.
After reviewing the state’s cybercrime response and control systems at the Secretariat, Mr. Naidu directed police, banking and technology officials to strengthen coordination and adopt advanced tools to detect and prevent financial fraud, including the misuse of mule bank accounts.
Mr. Naidu said the rapid increase in UPI-based digital transactions has increased the need for faster intervention systems capable of tracing and recovering money lost to cyber fraud during the crucial “golden hour” immediately after a complaint is lodged. “In this regard, there is a need for technological innovation in fund recovery systems,” he said, suggesting that officials study national and international best practices.
AI tools
The chief minister directed banks to strengthen monitoring of high-value transactions, especially on weekends, and suggested taking up regulatory changes at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). “Use AI-based tools like ‘Mule Account Hunter AI’ developed by RBI to identify suspicious and fake bank accounts linked to cyber crime networks,” he said.
He expressed concern over the growing number of investment scams and shell companies operating without proper Aadhaar verification or KYC verification and asked officials to conduct a detailed study of such activities. He directed the police department, bankers, AP Technology Services (APTS) and the finance department to jointly formulate standard operating procedures (SOPs) to tackle online financial fraud while ensuring that the interests of account holders are protected.
The Chief Minister also emphasized the importance of continuous campaigns to increase public awareness about cyber and online financial fraud.
Lost money
During the review, Director General of Police Harish Kumar Gupta informed that 9.29 lakh complaints were filed by victims from Andhra Pradesh on the national cyber crime helpline ‘1930’. According to him, victims of cyber and financial fraud in the state have collectively lost around ₹652 crore so far. However, the CID Cyber Crime wing, in coordination with the banks, managed to prevent more than ₹116 crore from reaching the cybercriminals by early intervention, the DGP added.
Officials reported that phishing, vishing, credit and debit card fraud, online loan fraud and “digital arrest” fraud are among the top cyber crimes affecting citizens. They said the state CID cyber crime investigation unit is actively functioning and cyber police stations have been set up in Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati.
IT Department Secretary Katamneni Bhaskar informed the Chief Minister that Andhra Pradesh Cyber Security Operation Center provides protection to government data and websites from cyber threats.
Ministers Payyavula Keshav (Finance) and Vangalapudi Anitha (Home), senior police officials, CID chief Ravi Shankar Ayyanar, banking representatives and officials from various departments were present.
Published – 13 May 2026 20:28 IST
