Offer to help, then a card swap: Man held for duping senior citizens at Mumbai ATM kiosks

The man allegedly swapped their debit cards on the pretext of helping them withdraw cash and later siphoned money from their accounts.

MUMBAI: The Kasturba Marg police on Friday arrested a 37-year-old man for allegedly duping senior citizens at ATM kiosks. The accused allegedly swapped their debit cards on the pretext of helping them withdraw cash and later siphoned money from their accounts. Police said 71 debit cards were recovered from him, and three cases have been detected so far.

Under the guise of helping a person operate the machine, the accused allegedly obtained their PIN and swapped the ATM card with a duplicate one, police in Mumbai said. (AP/Representative image)

The accused, identified as Francis Patrick Fernandes, was apprehended following a complaint lodged by a Borivali resident on February 7.

According to the police, the complainant had gone to withdraw money from an ATM kiosk near his residence when an unknown man approached him and offered assistance. Under the guise of helping him operate the machine, the accused allegedly obtained the victim’s PIN and swapped his ATM card with a duplicate one.

After the complainant left the kiosk, the accused allegedly used the original debit card and the PIN to withdraw money from the victim’s bank account.

He then approached the police, and a case was registered against an unidentified person.

A team led by senior inspector Jairaj Ranware examined CCTV footage from the ATM kiosk and analysed technical evidence, which led them to Fernandes, police said. The accused allegedly confessed during interrogation.

Fernandes was arrested under section 318 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. He was brought before a local court on Friday and remanded to police custody for four days.