Ahmedabad: The Reserve Bank of India, as part of its continuous monitoring and development-oriented coordination and engagement with its regulated entities, organized a workshop on “Combating Cyber Fraud” at Ahmedabad to create awareness about cyber fraud incidents and the emerging new techniques.
As part of the ongoing series to create awareness among regulated entities on the issue of cyber fraud, the first such workshop was organized for 100 small urban cooperative banks on 25th February 2026.
The second workshop was attended by the Chief Executive Officers, Senior Management and Heads of Information Technology Departments of 94 Urban Cooperative Banks, District Central Cooperative Banks and State Cooperative Banks operating across Gujarat. The workshop is part of the Reserve Bank of India’s continuous efforts to coordinate with stakeholders to promote a safe digital payment ecosystem to combat the threat of cyber fraud.
The expert speakers on the occasion were Vijay Raina, General Manager, Reserve Bank of India and Sanjay Kumar Keshwala, Superintendent of Police, Cyber Centre for Excellence, Gandhinagar.
The workshop emphasized the importance of a robust operational and supervisory system, strict internal controls, streamlined processes and use of advanced technologies to prevent cyber related frauds and manage its risks. The speakers from the Reserve Bank of India, besides highlighting the recent increase in cyber-related financial frauds, especially the incidents of “digital arrests”, also stressed the need for banks to conduct due diligence on customers during the onboarding process of new customers and to continuously monitor their transactions.
Furthermore, the Reserve Bank of India called upon the senior management of urban cooperative banks to prioritize and adopt cyber resilience as a key strategic measure in their institutions and to create awareness through intensive campaigns involving the local community, warnings in local languages, etc.
Police Officer eshwala spoke about some of the initiatives taken by the Cyber Centre of Excellence of Gujarat Police to prevent, report and investigate cyber frauds. Further, Shri Keshwala provided detailed information on the structure and functioning of the National Cyber Crime Helpline No. 1930 in India and how timely action by banks has helped victims of cyber frauds recover their money.
Keshwala also stressed on the need to report frauds immediately during the “golden hour” – the immediate period after the fraud is committed, noting that cyber fraudsters exploit human emotions like trust, fear, greed, urgency and laziness.
The programme concluded with an interactive session where representatives of various banks participating in the workshop sought guidance and suggested some solutions to curb cyber frauds.
At this juncture, the Reserve Bank of India reiterated its commitment to continue its coordination with banks and other stakeholders and to take appropriate measures to further strengthen the resilience and integrity of the Indian banking system.
Senior officials from the Reserve Bank of India and various cooperative banks participated in this workshop.
