Man held in Delhi for swapping retired Air Force personnel’s ATM card with fake one; police say accused involved in 28 similar cases
The officer stated that the incident occurred on October 9, when the retired IAF personnel visited an ATM booth at the J Block in Vikaspuri.
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The officer stated that the incident occurred on October 9, when the retired IAF personnel visited an ATM booth at the J Block in Vikaspuri. (Representational image/Freepik)An 82-year-old retired Indian Air Force personnel was duped of Rs 1.3 lakh by an ATM card scammer in Vikaspuri. The accused, identified as 30-year-old Shivam Kumar, was arrested on Monday, according to Deputy Commissioner of Police (West Delhi) Vichitra Veer, who added that Kumar had previously been involved in 28 similar cases.
The officer stated that the incident occurred on October 9, when the retired IAF personnel visited an ATM booth at the J Block in Vikaspuri. “An unknown man, posing as a helpful bystander, swapped the victim’s debit card with a duplicate card. The victim only realized it on October 14, when he visited the bank to withdraw money but found his account empty,” informed DCP Veer.
A case was registered the same day based on the victim’s complaint, and an investigation was launched. A team comprising Sub-Inspector Deepak Vashist, Assistant Sub-Inspector Sandeep Punia, and Head Constables Sandeep, Dinesh, and Manoj, supervised by Inspector Raj Veer Singh (SHO Vikaspuri) and under the overall supervision of ACP Tilak Nagar Surender Singh Rathee, identified the suspect through detailed analysis of CCTV footage and technical surveillance.
“Subsequently, a raid was conducted, and Shivam, a resident of Gulab Bagh in Uttam Nagar, was arrested on November 4,” said DCP Veer. The police seized the victim’s stolen debit card, along with three other cards and tyres purchased using the stolen money.
According to police records, Shivam was found to have been involved in at least four other fraudulent cases in the Vikaspuri area.
On April 12, a 65-year-old man visiting an ATM at G12A in Vikaspuri was assisted by a man who, under the pretence of inserting the card correctly, swapped it. Upon returning home, the victim discovered multiple transactions totalling Rs 1,98,986 had been made from his account.
On June 17, a 63-year-old PVC pipe factory worker went to withdraw Rs 6,000 from the same ATM in J Block. Two men inside the booth asked for his help, claiming their card was not working. After the victim demonstrated the transaction process using his card, the men left, asking for directions to another ATM. Later, the victim found that Rs 55,000 had been withdrawn from his account, and the card in his pocket had been swapped with a different one.
On July 25, a 28-year-old experienced a loss of Rs 59,985 after his card was swapped while seeking help to change his ATM PIN from an unknown man in the booth.
On September 28, a 33-year-old e-rickshaw driver visited the same J Block ATM to create an ATM PIN, where two men assisted him. Later, he received messages indicating three transactions amounting to Rs 28,000. Upon checking, he found his ATM card had been replaced with another.
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