Debit card swap fraud: 2 Haryana men land in Ludhiana police net

Khanna police have arrested two Haryana based fraudsters for stealing money from bank accounts of people visiting ATM kiosks by swapping their original debit cards with fake ones

Khanna police have arrested two Haryana based fraudsters for stealing money from bank accounts of people visiting ATM kiosks by swapping their original debit cards with fake ones.

The accused fraudsters in custody of Ludhiana police. (HT Photo)

The accused have been identified as Vajinder and Sikandar, both natives of Hisar, Haryana. Police have recovered at least 72 stolen debit cards, one point of sale (POS) machine and ₹39,000 from their possession. They were arrested from a checkpoint near Samadhi chowk and their car has also been impounded. Police have also seized their bank accounts which had ₹80,000.

Superintendent of police (SP, investigation) Pragya Jain said the accused had been duping people in Haryana, Delhi and Punjab and came to Khanna in search of new targets. “They used to target elderly people facing problems in operating ATMs. The accused used to offer help in completing transactions and swapped their debit cards with counterfeit ones. Later, they stole money from their bank accounts using their card,” said the SP. The accused have swindled their victims out of at least ₹6.5 lakh, police said.

The SP said both accused are unemployed and started committing crimes four months ago. A case of cheating and theft has been registered against them at Khanna city police station .

Sikandar is already facing trial in a forgery case lodged at Pathankot sadar police station.