Akshay Kumar becomes face of cyber crime awareness

Recalling a recent cyber harassment incident involving his 13-year-old daughter, Akshay Kumar underscored the growing threat of online predators targeting teenagers and young adults

MUMBAI: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Actor Akshay Kumar on Friday inaugurated Maharashtra Cyber Awareness Month 2025 at the state police headquarters in Colaba. Recalling a recent cyber harassment incident involving his 13-year-old daughter, Akshay Kumar underscored the growing threat of online predators targeting teenagers and young adults.

Akshay-Kumar-at-an-event-that-launched-the-Honda-Dream-Yuga-motorcycle-in--Gurgaon-HT-Photo-Manoj-Kumar

The campaign has been launched to create awareness on the rising threat of cybercrime and means to tackle such situations. The event was also attended by director general of police Rashmi Shukla, home secretary Iqbal Singh Chahal, and actor Rani Mukerji, along with Fadnavis and Akshay Kumar.

Speaking at the event, Akshay Kumar said that a few months ago, his daughter was approached by an unknown individual while playing an online video game. He said that the person broke the conversation by complimenting her gaming skills and then started asking personal questions, including her age, gender and location. The person then asked her to send nudes. “Shocked by the request, she immediately exited the game and informed her mother, Twinkle Khanna,” he said.

Calling such episodes a rapidly growing danger in digital spaces, the actor urged the state government to introduce mandatory weekly sessions in secondary education schools, creating awareness on cyber safety and educating students on how to identify and respond to online threats in time.

“Cybercrime is now bigger than street crime. Awareness is the only way to stop it,” he said.

The chief minister, in his address, stressed the need for timely reporting of online frauds, highlighting the concept of the ‘golden hour’ in cybercrime response. “Just as taking an accident victim to the hospital within the golden hour increases survival chances, reporting cyber frauds immediately allows police to block the fraudster and recover defrauded money,” Fadnavis said.

Calling it a major challenge to prevent cybercrime without proper awareness, Fadnavis urged citizens to stay vigilant against cybercriminals. He stressed the importance of promptly reporting such crimes and asked the victims to dial 1930 or 1945 to seek help in such situations.