Law enforcement agencies from 13 states and 11 central institutions have agreed to strengthen intelligence-sharing and coordinate operations against organised cybercrime networks at a meeting held in Hyderabad on Tuesday. The initiative brings together agencies that handle policing, banking, telecommunications, cyber incident response and financial investigations.
The Joint Cyber Crime Coordination Team-IV, Hyderabad, meeting involved 45 officers from state law enforcement agencies and central institutions. Participants included the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, CERT-In, the National Crime Records Bureau, the Bureau of Police Research and Development, the Reserve Bank of India, the Enforcement Directorate, the Department of Telecommunications, the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Intelligence Bureau, the National Forensic Sciences University and Telangana’s Information Technology, Electronics and Communications Department.
The meeting was inaugurated by Telangana Director General of Police C.V. Anand. He said cybercrime complaints across India increased by 24 per cent in 2024-25, while complaints in Telangana declined by three per cent. Financial losses reported in the state fell by 20 per cent, compared with a four per cent decline nationally, according to the figures cited at the meeting.
Anand said prevention needed to begin before fraudsters gained access to victims’ phone numbers and bank accounts. The emphasis reflects the way many cybercrime cases now depend on rapid access to telecommunications, banking and digital identity systems, requiring action from agencies outside the jurisdiction where a complaint is filed.
Telangana Cyber Security Bureau director Shikha Goel said cybercrime had developed into an organised transnational ecosystem, while investigations continued to be constrained by state and institutional boundaries. She called for real-time information-sharing, intelligence-led investigations and coordinated operations across multiple states.
Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre chief executive officer Rajesh Kumar said scam compounds had shifted from Southeast Asia to Africa, Sri Lanka and other countries. He outlined proposed measures including a unified investigation platform, a Reserve Bank of India standard operating procedure for banks to stop suspicious transactions and nationwide operations targeting cybercrime infrastructure.
The discussions covered prevention, inter-state coordination, crimes against women and children, legal accountability for artificial intelligence, and the use of artificial intelligence-enabled tools for detection and investigation. Participants also examined mule accounts, telecom platforms, nodal officers and escalation protocols.
The meeting’s institutional focus highlights the administrative challenge of responding to digital fraud: a victim may be in one state, the bank account in another, the telecom connection elsewhere and the wider criminal network outside India. The proposed mechanisms would require police, banks, telecom companies and central agencies to share information and act within shorter response windows.
Citizens facing financial cyber fraud were advised to call the helpline 1930 immediately or report the incident through cybercrime.gov.in. The meeting concluded with calls for a unified investigation platform, coordinated multi-state operations and stronger protocols for stopping suspicious transactions.
