Pune: Yerawada police officer ATM card cloned; loses Rs 1.30 lakh

Pune: ATM and credit card frauds have been on the rise lately. Fakes are using card skimming and cloning to steal people’s money.

Now in a shocking incident, an assistant sub-inspector posted with the Yerawada police station fell victim to suspected debit card cloning after Rs 1.30 lakh were fraudulently withdrawn from his bank account.

A 57-year-old lost the amount in a case of suspected debit card cloning. According to the first information report registered with the Cantonment police, the amount was debited over 33 withdrawals at different ATMs between three days from November 1 till November 4.

The complainant Jameel Rehman Shaikh was out shopping in Camp area on November 1, when he ran out of cash. The card of the complainant was cloned from an ATM in the same area where he lives. Once cloned, a number of transactions were made through his card from places around Pune.

Via multiple transactions, none of which surpassing Rs 9,000 in withdrawal amount, a total of Rs 1,30,000 was withdrawn using the cloned card, the police further added. The cybercrime cell is probing the case.

A case under relevant sections 419 (punishment for cheating by personation) and 420 (cheating) of Indian Penal Code and Section 66(c) and of the Information Technology Act is registered at Lashkar police station. Police inspector AN Hazare is probing the case further.

WHAT IS CARD CLONING

Using the information kept, the ATM card can be cloned and used to steal money easily. Fraudsters often use the stolen data to make fake charges online or to create counterfeit cards. Some even sell the stolen data or use the data for illegal activities.