Over 5,300 Bank Branches Join Gujarat Govt’s High-Level Meeting on Cyber Fraud Prevention

Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government today convened a high-level meeting with senior police officials and leading banks to strengthen coordination against cyber fraud, with a special focus on ensuring that victims’ money is frozen within the crucial “golden hour” after a digital scam.

The meeting, chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi at GIFT City, was attended by senior officials from the Home Department, Gujarat Police, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and representatives of various banks. More than 5,300 bank branches across the state joined the meeting through video conference.

The discussions centred on creating a faster, real-time coordination mechanism between banks and police to minimise financial losses caused by cyber fraud. Sanghavi directed officials to analyse data from past cybercrime cases to identify fraud patterns and develop preventive measures against emerging cybercrime techniques.

He stressed that prompt action by both banks and police is critical, saying even a delay of a few minutes in freezing a fraudulent transaction can result in victims losing their lifetime savings. He said the initiative is aimed at strengthening public trust in digital banking by ensuring quick intervention in cyber fraud cases.

Sanghavi also highlighted that senior citizens are among the most vulnerable targets of cybercriminals, particularly in cases involving “digital arrest” scams. He urged bank staff to exercise greater vigilance when elderly customers seek to prematurely withdraw or break large fixed deposits and to verify such transactions through polite questioning. He cited an instance in Ahmedabad where alert bank staff prevented a customer from losing lakhs of rupees to fraudsters.

The Deputy Chief Minister further asked banks not to compromise on quality and legal verification while opening new accounts, despite business targets. He also called for greater sharing of real-time intelligence between banks and Gujarat Police on suspicious transactions, cyber fraud calls and frozen accounts to improve enforcement.

During the meeting, police personnel and bank officials who played a key role in saving citizens’ money in cyber fraud cases were felicitated. Principal Secretary (Home) Sanjeev Gupta, Director General of Police Gyanendra Singh Malik, and senior officials from Gujarat Police, RBI, and various banks were present. DeshGujarat