200 card-fraud cases lie unsolved with police

While more than 200 cases of card cloning have been registered with the cyber wing of the Mumbai police since late last year, not one has been solved till date.

While more than 200 cases of card cloning have been registered with the cyber wing of the Mumbai police since late last year, not one has been solved till date.

HT Image

After a sudden spurt in cases of credit card/debit card cloning toward the end of 2012, the cyber police have been regularly receiving such applications.

When asked about the dismal record in solving cases, an officer from the cyber police station said that most complainants are only interested in getting the stolen money credited back to their account, and do not bother about the case beyond that.

“After we give them a stamped copy of their complaint, they submit it to their bank. Once the bank is certain there has been a fraud, they credit the amount back on most occasions. The complainants, then, are not interested in following up with the case,” the officer said.

He added that investigation in such cases turns out to be time-consuming as they have to co-ordinate with the victim, the bank, a mediator, the acquiring bank (bank located in the country where the transaction takes places that allows the transaction) and the shop — located abroad in most cases — where the card was used.