Card cloning: Third skimmer found in Canara Bank ATM in Chandigarh

It all started on August 3, after the Punjab cyber cell officials received 11 complaints from ICICI and HDFC bank customers about cash totalling ₹6 lakh being withdrawn from their accounts.

A card cloning device or skimmer was found at Chandigarh’s Sector 17 Canara Bank ATM machine on Thursday by bank officials, police said. This is the third such case for the bank in one week.

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Canara Bank manager Yogesh Kumar lodged a complaint after another skimmer, a machine to read debit and credit card data which is used by criminals to steal money from ATMs, was found in the city’s commercial centre.

Earlier, skimmers were detected by Canara Bank customers from ATMs in Sector 35 and Manimajra.

Cops have registered a case of cheating (420) and 511(punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life) against unidentified persons.

The bank has now set up teams that regularly inspect the ATMs in the morning, afternoon and evening.

Senior UT police officials have held meetings with bank authorities, instructing them to deploy security guards round the clock at the ATMs and not allow in people wearing caps.

It all started on August 3, after the Punjab cyber cell officials received 11 complaints from ICICI and HDFC bank customers about cash totalling ₹6 lakh being withdrawn from their accounts.

Subsequently, skimming machines were recovered from Chandigarh ATMs and the CCTV footages showed two men putting the card cloning device in the machines. A skimmer records credit and debit card data, which is copied on expired or stolen cards to make a clone and used.