Delhi Police is worried as cases of cloning of cards and people losing money from their accounts are surfacing from various parts of the city. In the past four days, cops have got as many as six complaints of ATM fraud with people losing lakhs in a span of few minutes.
In one such incident, a woman living in east Delhi¡¯s Laxmi Nagar lost approximately Rs 2 lakh in 15 minutes.
The miscreants made 20 transactions from her account in quick succession leaving it empty. The woman told cops that the transactions took place in the evening with multiple withdrawals taking place from south Delhi¡¯s Bhikaji Cama Place.
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¡°The withdrawals happened when the ATM card was in my possession. Even before I could alert the bank to block my account, all the money was gone,¡± the woman said.
A Delhi University professor also lost approximately Rs 50,000 in a similar fashion with his money withdrawn from an ATM in Hyderabad.
Similar incidents were reported in the past few days from Hauz Khas, Lodhi Colony, Khan Market and Nehru Place. Almost all complainants told cops that the withdrawals took place in a quick span of time with many from multiple locations.
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The modus operandi seen in these incidents have indicated the usage of skimmer devices, which are used to illegally copy card details while it is being swiped either at an ATM kiosk or a POS machine.
Cops said that such devices have become a headache as they are available for as little as Rs 7,000. A police officer, who had earlier busted a gang who was using these devices to cheat people, said that criminals are getting their hands on skimmer devices that are made in China.
¡°These are either procured online through various websites or through dealers selling electronic items,¡± the cop said, adding that multiple copies of the same card are created to withdraw money in quick succession.
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When browsed, many popular e-commerce websites were found offering the devices. For Rs 7,000, dealers were ready to offer devices that can be connected to a USB port and can read and copy the data of a card.
Cops said they are working to crackdown on grey markets in the city where these devices are being brought from.