Some bank staff colluding with cybercriminals, say Eluru police

Superintendent of Police K. Pratap Shiva Kishore speaking at a meeting on security at banks and ATM kiosks in Eluru on Thursday.

Superintendent of Police K. Pratap Shiva Kishore has appealed to bankers to cooperate with the police to check cybercrimes. “Cyber offenders were committing crimes with the help of some bank managements. Staff of some banks were hand-in-glove with the accused, which was proven in our investigation. Fraudsters from different states were opening accounts in Andhra Pradesh with fake IDs and were carrying out illegal operations,” the SP said.

Speaking at a coordination meeting with the officers of various banks in the district on Thursday, Mr. Pratap Shiva Kishore asked them to check the ID proofs submitted by strangers to open accounts. He requested the bankers to keep an eye out for accounts in which large sums get deposited, then transferred to accounts in other countries and states or withdrawn immediately.

He directed bank managements to arrange CCTV cameras and hire security guards at branches and Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) kiosks. Bank managers, assistant managers and other officers should take measures to prevent crimes because it has become tough for the investigating officers to find out from which country or State the accused operated,” the SP said.

Posters explaining the ‘dos and don’ts’ on safe banking along with cybercrime reporting number 1930 should be fixed on all branches and ATM kiosks, he said.

Polavaram Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) M. Venkateswara Rao, Eluru DSP D. Sravan Kumar, Nuzvid DSP K.V.V.N.B. Prasad, Special Branch Inspector Malleswara Rao, Cyber Cell SI Madhu Venkata Raju, managers, assistant managers of various banks participated.