Delhi Police are gearing up for a significant escalation in their fight against cybercrime in 2026, with plans to conduct intensive and regular CyberHawk operations. This move comes as criminals increasingly target vulnerable citizens from overseas hubs, making money recovery far more challenging.
The Rising Tide of Cross-Border Cyber Fraud
Police authorities in the national capital have warned that 2026 will likely see more targeted cyber attacks. A disturbing trend has emerged over the past year, with scams like 'digital arrests' and fake 'investment' schemes being orchestrated increasingly from locations such as Cambodia and Dubai. This marks a shift from the previously notorious domestic hubs like Jamtara or Mewat.
This geographical shift presents a major hurdle for investigators. "Once the victims' money enters foreign bank accounts, it becomes almost impossible to recover," police officials stated. An investigator explained that while frauds by syndicates within India often led to recovery after arrests, tracking international operators is extremely difficult, and the final destination of the funds is rarely traced.
The numbers starkly illustrate the problem. Data shows that until mid-November 2025, less than 16% of the money swindled from Delhi residents could be tracked and recovered. In a alarming statistic, Delhiites lost approximately Rs 70 crore to cyber fraud in just the first six months of the year.
CyberHawk Operations: A Proven Strategy for Recovery
In response, the police have found success with large-scale, coordinated crackdowns. Special Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Devesh Chandra Srivastava emphasized that relentless vigilance is critical. Operations like CyberHawk 2.0 in December and CyberHawk 1.0 in November yielded impressive results.
CyberHawk 2.0 alone led to 1,000 arrests and the tracing of a staggering Rs 944 crore in defrauded money. The impact of these back-to-back operations was clear: following the second CyberHawk drive, the recovery and seizure rate of money lost to cyber fraudsters in Delhi for 2025 shot up to nearly 24.97% by mid-December.
"In 2026, we will continue Op CyberHawk on a regular basis intensively. We have seen a massive surge in money recovery and arrests, whenever such coordinated operations are undertaken," stated Srivastava.
The 2026 Roadmap: S4C and Faster Bank Coordination
The strategy for the coming year involves both sustained operations and structural improvements. A key initiative will be the establishment of the State Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (S4C) in 2026. This will be a state-level version of the Home Ministry's I4C (Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre) unit.
On the ground, individual cyber police stations are refining their coordination with banks to freeze fraudulent transactions faster. A veteran cyber police officer outlined the new protocol: "We will now contact banks and freeze accounts as soon as we receive a complaint, irrespective of jurisdiction. The case can always be transferred later."
The first and most crucial step is obtaining the correct transaction ID from the complainant, which allows banks to pinpoint the 'mule account' where the victim's money was sent. Once shared, the bank freezes the account to prevent further fund movement. Officers noted that they often have to guide victims who file online complaints with incorrect or unknown transaction IDs, proactively calling them to get the right details and then pushing banks to act immediately.
