Mumbai, 26th: Cybercriminals often trick citizens by threatening them in the name of the police, CBI, or judges. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has urged people not to fall for these tactics and to immediately call the cyber helpline number ‘1930’ if they are scammed.
Speaking at an event organized by Maharashtra Cyber at the Sahyadri Guest House, Chief Minister Fadnavis released a short cyber awareness film titled ‘Digital Arrest’ and the ‘1930 Maharashtra Cyber Anthem’.
Minister of State Dr. Pankaj Bhoyar, Additional Chief Secretary of the Home Department Manisha Mhaiskar, Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister Lokesh Chandra, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Dr. Shrikhar Pardeshi, Director General of Police Sadanand Date, Additional Director General of Police (Cyber) Sanjay Shintre, Investment Adviser to the Chief Minister Kaustubh Dhavse and Head of Maharashtra Cyber Cell Yashasvi Yadav were present on this occasion.
Actors Ashish Vidyarthi, Pankaj Tripathi, Sharad Kelkar, Sonali Bendre, and Javed Jaffrey; singers Sunidhi Chauhan and Mangesh Desai; and Samay Raina—who contributed to the short film and the anthem—were also present.
Chief Minister Fadnavis explained that the “golden hour” right after a cyber fraud is crucial. If a complaint is filed during this time, there is a much better chance of freezing or recovering the stolen money. However, if citizens delay reporting it by three to fifteen days, the money gets transferred across multiple accounts and becomes very difficult to recover. Therefore, it is essential to call 1930 immediately upon realizing you have been scammed.
Mobiles, online transactions, various payment gateways, and digital media have become an integral part of daily life. While technology has made life easier, it has also increased citizens’ vulnerability to cybercrimes. In this context, Fadnavis noted that along with using modern technology effectively to combat these criminals, it is vital to raise mass public awareness.
Cybercriminals use various tricks like claiming illegal drugs were found in a parcel or committing OTP fraud through fake phone calls while posing as police or CBI officers. Seeing someone in a khaki uniform or dressed as a police officer or judge on their screen often terrifies ordinary citizens into falling for these scams. Therefore, Mr. Fadnavis urged people not to give in to such pressure or fear under any circumstances.
Fadnavis added that public awareness is the most effective way to prevent cybercrime. He emphasized that messages can be delivered more effectively if artists and actors help spread them among citizens through mediums like ‘Digital Arrest’, which runs for 42 minutes; along with various clips and reels on social media campaigns aimed at reaching every single citizen.”The rise of artificial intelligence has created new challenges like voice cloning and deepfakes,” he said while addressing an event organized by Maharashtra Cyber at Sahyadri Guest House today (June 25). “The work being done by Maharashtra Cyber in tackling these challenges is commendable,” he said before adding his confidence that with everyone’s cooperation in future too a comprehensive cyber awareness campaign will be successful.”
During this program Yassavi Yadav Head of Maharashtra Cyber Cell gave information about future projects such as Maharashtra Safe App & Asha Call Bot via presentation.”
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis honored actors who contributed towards making ‘Digital Arrest’ short film & ‘1930 Maharashtra Cyber Anthem’. Artists expressed their views on this occasion.”
