Beware, Bulgarian man who swiped cloned cards in Mumbai targeted overseas citizens

A 45-year-old Bulgarian man who was arrested for allegedly cloning debit and credit cards targeted mostly overseas customers of international banks, said the cyber

A 45-year-old Bulgarian man who was arrested for allegedly cloning debit and credit cards targeted mostly overseas customers of international banks, said the cyber police.

Bulgarian man spent lakhs on poker in Goa and was a well-known gambler there. (HT)

Milcho Angelov, according to an official, stole the data from a country and used cloned cards to withdraw money from ATMs of international banks in India.

The police are probing two angles as how or from whom he had received the stolen data. They suspected that either he had sourced it either from someone or through skimmers, which are planted in ATMs to capture and store card details. He allegedly copied the stolen data on cards.

The police have not ruled out the involvement of more people who may have helped him.

Angelov managed to get a permanent account number (PAN) card using fake documents, showing he was a resident of Antop Hill in Bandra, said the official. “He had spent lakhs on poker in Goa and was known in the gambling circles there. He has come to India several times since 2013. He has been living here on a tourist visa for months now,” another source told HT.

Besides, he had splurged lakhs on shopping, the source added.

The fraud came to light when an ATM at Juhu retained his card after he had keyed in a wrong password thrice. Based on CCTV footage, the police arrested him when he went to some other place to withdraw money. In a raid on his house in Andheri (East), the police seized 250-odd plain golden coloured cards, magnetic strips and around Rs60,000 from him.

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