ATM-based theft cases on the rise

In similar cases in the past, police have found that fraudsters replace the card inserting slot of an ATM machine with a skimmer.

THE SPATE of ATM machines being compromised continued in Mumbai after at least six people fell victim to unauthorised transactions from their accounts after using an ATM at Hill Road in Bandra. Last month, eight people had lost money to unauthorised transactions after using an ATM at Jogeshwari.

On Monday, Adrian Taites, a Bandra resident, lost Rs 40,000 from his bank account to a series of unauthorised transactions even though he did not give his debit card details to anyone. According to a post he put up on a social media platform, he went to Bandra PS soon after, where he found another person facing the same trouble. Both had one thing in common – they used the same ATM located at Hill Road.

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In similar cases in the past, police have found that fraudsters replace the card inserting slot of an ATM machine with a skimmer, a device that copies card data and stores it. Fraudsters also set up a small camera to get the card PIN number keyed in by users. The accused then take the details, transfer them to dummy debit cards and make fraudulent transactions even as the original debit card is still with the owner.

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Adrian soon found that a friend’s sister had also lost Rs 38,000 to unauthorised transactions. As per his message on the social platform, he also found a friend’s Australia-based brother, who had made the last transaction at the same ATM, lost Rs 50,000, while another friend lost Rs 15,000 using the same ATM.

Officers at Bandra police station confirmed there has been a flurry of complaints regarding people who used the ATM at Hill Road. SI Hanumant Ombe said, “We are in the process of registering an FIR in the case of a woman who lost Rs 1 lakh after using the ATM at Hill Road. There has been a series of complaints in the past few days.”

mohamed.thaver@expressindia.com

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ATM theft