Much along the lines of the Union government’s Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Uttar Pradesh’s Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre (CFMC) has helped prevent fraud money from being quickly siphoned off through mule accounts.
Consequently, Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the top-performing large state in the country in freezing cyber fraud-linked funds, with authorities securing ₹425.7 crore through lien marking between April 2025 and March 2026.
This places Uttar Pradesh two percentage points ahead of Gujarat (35.2%) and 6.1 percentage points above the large-state average of 31.1%, while also handling the highest complaint volume among major states — a combination officials said reflects both scale and system efficiency.
The CFMC was established in Lucknow in July 2025 after cyber police observed a surge in unattended fraud calls. A 30-seat standalone cyber call centre was set up to supplement the earlier 20-seat 1930 cyber helpline at UP-112 headquarters.
The lien marking figures were reviewed at a high-level meeting on Thursday, chaired by Binod Kumar Singh, director general, cyber crime, at the Cyber Crime Police Headquarters in Lucknow, and attended by senior police officials, the RBI regional director, Pankaj Kumar, as well as chief general manager, Bank of Baroda, Shailendra Kumar Singh, who is convenor of State Level Bankers’ Committee, and representatives of banking and payment gateway institutions.
According to official data, Uttar Pradesh recorded 29,534 cyber fraud complaints in March 2026, the highest among all large states, involving a reported fraud amount of ₹110.42 crore. Of this, ₹41.10 crore was frozen, taking the state’s lien percentage to 37.2%, the highest among large states in the country.
Before the CFMC became operational, the state’s lien-marked amount in June 2025 stood at ₹22.64 crore, with a recovery efficiency of 20.03%. Since then, the recovery rate has shown a sharp rise, driven by faster real-time intervention.
The meeting focused on real-time response, mule account detection, 24×7 nodal desks, data sharing and strengthening the lien-marking mechanism. Officials also reviewed the money redressal module (MRM) and grievance redressal module (GRM) for the custody of frozen funds and their restoration to victims.
A recent case
On April 8, Nasim Begum of Civil Lines, Badaun, reported a ₹9 lakh online fraud on the 1930 helpline after fraudsters allegedly lured her with promises of higher returns on a fixed deposit.
Officials said the complaint was immediately routed through the CFMC and the entire amount was frozen in real time before it could be withdrawn. “The complete amount was successfully lien-marked, preventing any loss to the complainant,” an official said.
Binod Kumar Singh, DG, cyber crime, said the first few minutes after a cyber fraud are most critical.
“Speed is the key. Our priority is to reduce the response window to the minimum possible time so that the defrauded amount can be secured before it moves through multiple accounts,” Singh said.
www.hindustantimes.com
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