Telangana DGP address the media in Warangal
Hyderabad: Telangana Director General of Police CV Anand on Sunday, August 9, said that the state has lost Rs 1,700 crore to cybercrimes in the last three years.
“This is almost three times the money lost to conventional crimes,” Anand told the media during a press conference in Warangal. Anand said that the Telangana police is strengthening its response to emerging threats such as cybercrime and narcotics trafficking.
He said that cybercrimes could be significantly curbed with greater public awareness, adding that the cybercrime wing is being strengthened and awareness programmes are being conducted across the state.
Despite claiming that Telangana is leading in terms of crackdowns on cybercrime, the DGP admitted that recovering the money lost to cyber frauds is a challenge.
He stressed that people must remain alert while making digital transactions and understand common methods used by cybercriminals, which could safeguard them.
The DGP’s statement on cybercrime came shortly after Hyderabad Commissioner of Police VC Sajjanar highlighted that elderly people who fall prey to cyber fraud have lost Rs 102 crore in the last 19 months and are being neglected.
During this time, 403 cases of cybercrime were registered. “Senior citizens have lost Rs 55.88 crore to trading fraud, Rs 31.93 crore to digital arrest scams, Rs 4.94 crore to OTP fraud, and Rs 2.79 crore to investment fraud,” Sajjanar said in a statement.
He said that fraudsters are taking advantage of the elderly’s loneliness, even cheating them through ‘dating frauds’. Since January 2025, senior citizens have lost Rs 70.11 lakh to such scams, he said. Extensive awareness campaigns and warnings from the police have yielded results, reducing the average number of crimes reported from 24 cases per month in 2025 to 17 cases per month in 2026. However, he said certain “interesting things” have come up during the investigation.
He said that children were found not supervising their elderly parents’ transactions or behaviour and then complaining to the police that they have been cheated.
“It has been revealed that children do not even ask what their parents are doing on their phones under the pretext of a busy life. What kind of bank transactions are they conducting? Why are they acting so emotional or nervous? It has been revealed that after losing lakhs of rupees of their hard-earned money, they are coming to the cybercrime police station saying, ‘Our parents have been cheated’,” Sajjanar said in a release.
Meanwhile, he appreciated bank employees for their vigilance, which is helping prevent cybercrime. “Whether it is elderly people suddenly cancelling their fixed deposits or unexpectedly transferring large amounts to unknown accounts through Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT), there are instances where bank staff have responded immediately, talked to the victims, and prevented many frauds,” he said.
Cybercriminals are exploiting the fears and innocence of senior citizens and are looting their life savings, the commissioner said, and called on all the elderly to be constantly vigilant against such frauds.
He clarified that there is no such thing as a ‘digital arrest’, and no government or inspection agency will make phone or video calls and ask for money. He advised people not to believe in attractive part-time jobs and online trading offers that promise high profits on WhatsApp and Telegram under any circumstances.
This post was last modified on August 10, 2026 2:10 pm