Duo held with 55 stolen debit cards

Thane Rural police on Thursday arrested two persons for duping a senior citizen under the pretext of helping him in carrying out a transaction at an ATM in Thane.

Thane Rural police on Thursday arrested two persons for duping a senior citizen under the pretext of helping him in carrying out a transaction at an ATM in Thane. Police officers also recovered 55 stolen debit cards from the duo. The duo has cheated several senior citizens of several lakhs of rupees using the same modus operandi.

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The accused are Giasuddin Abu Siddique, 26; and Shaizan Abdul Rehman Aagha, 24; both residents of Mumbra. “Apart from stolen mobile phones and cash, we have recovered 55 ATM cards from them,” said an officer from the Thane police station. “We received a tip-off about their arrival near Mumbra railway station on Thursday and we laid a trap and nabbed them,” said the officer.

According to police, the duo would pose as customers in ATM queues and target people, especially senior citizens. Under the pretext of helping them, the accused would observe the victims’ PIN and then replace their card with fake ones. Then they would use the stolen cards to withdraw money.

The duo confessed to cheating more than 25 people from different parts of the country, including Jaipur, Jodhpur in Rajasthan; several cities in Gujarat, Karnataka; and Mumbai. The duo has been booked in eight cases registered at Kurla, Kalyan, Thane and Bhiwandi police stations.