Hyderabad, April 23 -- In a paradigm shift in strategy against organised cybercrime, Hyderabad City Police have asked banks to abandon the practice of targeting customer base expansion and instead focus on having "zero mule accounts," as per recent findings from the anti-fraud Operation Octopus.

The idea was pitched to bankers at a high-level bankers' coordination meeting, which was held on April 23. The proposal by Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar involved setting up a twin challenge where the success or failure would hinge upon a bank branch's ability to prevent cyber fraud and opening of mule accounts.

The meeting had participation from 75 representatives from 45 banks across Hyderabad. The police have arrested several officials of va...