Cops bust inter-district gang of ATM frauds; 4 arrested

The police said, the accused used to trick women, senior citizens and teenagers on the pretext of helping them at the ATM centers and replace their ATM cards, get its PIN and use it to withdraw money.

Thane: In a crackdown on ATM frauds across Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli and nearby areas, the anti-extortion cell of Thane police arrested four members of an inter-district gang after solving eight such cases.

Thane, India - January, 12, 2023: Thane anti-extortion squad seize 101 stolen ATM cards after arresting four accused who tricked women, senior citizens and teenagers, and withdrew cash from ATM centres, in Thane, India, on Thursday, January 12, 2023. (Praful Gangurde/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

The police said, the accused used to trick women, senior citizens and teenagers on the pretext of helping them at the ATM centers and replace their ATM cards, get its PIN and use it to withdraw money.

The gang had managed to withdraw lakhs of rupees from the ATM centers in this manner. A total of 101 ATM cards were seized from them by the police.

Three of the arrested are from Pandarpur (Solapur), and one from Ulhasnagar. They have been identified as Sunny Munna Singh, 28, Shrikant Godbole, 28, Haridas Magare, 25, and Ramrao Shirsat, 35. The police have recovered ₹ 70,000 in cash and ₹ 4.06 lakh-worth of vehicles and other items used by the gang to carry out the crime.

A complaint was lodged by Rupali Satish Boire, 32, from Bhiwandi, after her ATM card was replaced by an unknown person, who later withdrew ₹ 38,500 from her account.

The incident took place on January 2, when Boire had gone to an ATM center to deposit money. The accused distracted her with a small talk, replaced her ATM card and managed to get the PIN while she was depositing money. After she left, he used her ATM card to withdraw money.

After Boire’s complaint, a team was formed to crack down on such fraud cases. “We got information about these accused from a secret informer and accordingly, a trap was laid. The accused confessed to the crime and also handed over all the atm cards, including the one belonging to the complainant. We have also recovered 101 stolen ATM cards from them,” said an officer of the squad.

“It is our request to people to not fall prey to such tricks and never entertain an unknown person inside or outside the ATM centre. One should be alert when dealing with the ATM cards,” said the officer.

The police claimed that more such cases of ATM fraud will be solved in the coming days as the investigation is still under way.