UP tops nation in cyber fraud recovery, blocks withdrawals worth Rs 425.7 crore in 8 months

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the top-performing state in India in preventing financial losses due to cyber fraud, with authorities successfully blocking fraudulent withdrawals worth Rs 425.7 crore through timely intervention in the last eight months.

Officials attribute this achievement to the Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre, or CFMC, set up in July 2025, which enables real-time coordination between police and banking institutions.

The amount has been secured through 'lien' — a mechanism that temporarily freezes funds in bank accounts, preventing fraudsters from withdrawing money siphoned from victims.

Senior officials said the CFMC has significantly strengthened the state’s response by ensuring swift action within the crucial "golden hour."

Prior to its establishment, in June 2025, the lien amount stood at Rs 22.64 crore, with an efficiency of just 20.03%.

By March 2026, this surged to Rs 41.10 crore, with a lien efficiency of 37.2% — the highest among large states.

Police said that among states reporting over 10,000 complaints, Uttar Pradesh ranks first, ahead of Gujarat (35.2%), Rajasthan (33.6%) and Maharashtra (33.1%).

"Tackling cybercrime remains a top priority. From having just one cyber police station in 2014, Uttar Pradesh now has dedicated cyber units in every district. We have expanded the 1930 helpline into a 30-seater call centre at Kalli Paschim, with further expansion planned," DGP Rajeev Krishna told TOI.

He added, "The Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre, with bank representatives on board, allows real-time intervention. This enables us to block fraudulent transactions within the 'golden hour,' significantly improving the chances of recovering victims' money."

The CFMC initiative is built on the framework of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, which launched the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and helpline number 1930 in 2019.

In Uttar Pradesh, the cyber helpline has been expanded from a 14-seater call centre in 2021 to 20 seats in 2023, and now a 30-seater standalone facility in Kalli Paschim, Lucknow.

The CFMC, co-located at the same centre, currently includes representatives from 16 banks such as State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, with more banks expected to join soon.

DG, Cyber HQ, Binod Kumar Singh, said the project was conceptualised under DGP Rajeev Krishna, with key support from regional director of RBI Pankaj Kumar and GM BoB and Convenor, SLBC, UP, Shailendra Singh to onboard multiple banks.

"We have brought representatives of nine public, five private and two rural banks under one roof in what is the country's first CFMC. Efforts are underway to include more banks to cover the entire financial ecosystem," he said.

In a recent case, swift action by CFMC helped prevent a Rs 9 lakh fraud in Badaun after a victim alerted authorities via the 1930 helpline, with the amount frozen before withdrawal.

Officials said the model is now being seen as a benchmark for other states in tackling cyber-enabled financial crimes through coordinated, technology-driven intervention.