Romanian national caught with 60 cloned ATM cards in Mumbai

Police recovered cash worth ₹3.70 lakh from him

A Romanian national was arrested on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday from an ATM kiosk in Vikhroli while trying to withdraw money using cards that had allegedly been cloned. Over 60 cards, with the personal identification numbers (PIN) written on them, were recovered from the accused. Police also recovered cash worth ₹3.70 lakh from the accused.

The accused was arrested after the polce got a tip-off that a masked man was suspiciously loitering near the ATM (Representational photo)

The police on Friday received a tip-off regarding a man wearing a mask and suspiciously wandering in the area near the ATM. They then canvassed the area and nabbed the accused– identified as Carayvan Mariyan, 51 – when he came to the spot on Saturday night.

“Most of the cards found in the accused’s possession contained data cloned from residents of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh,” said Vilas Jadhav, senior police inspector, Parksite police station. Police suspect that the cards had been cloned by fitting skimming devices at ATM kiosks in Uttar Pradesh, and were now being used to withdraw money from unguarded ATMs in the city.

“We have informed the authorities concerned in Uttar Pradesh about the arrest. They will assist us in further investigation,” Jadhav said.Skimming devices are small machines attached to the card-reading slot. When ATM users swipe their card across the skimming device, the information on the card gets duplicated. The stolen data is transferred to duplicate cards.

However, since the PIN is also necessary for transactions, spy cameras are fitted at the kiosk. Using the data cloned via the skimmers and the PIN caught on spy cameras, fraudsters make counterfeit cards and use them to make transactions. Mariyan has been remanded in police custody till November 19. According to preliminary investigation, Mariyan came to India around six months ago. He frequently moved across the country, having previously lived in Delhi and Gujarat, said Jadhav.

Mariyan is currently being investigated, but police said he is evading the questions. They suspect that more people might be involved in the fraud. This is not an isolated case and reflects a rising trend. There have been multiple instances in the city wherein people have been duped by foreign nationals using counterfeit ATM cards.