Ahmedabad: Two ATM card swap frauds cost users Rs 1.4 lakh

Ahmedabad: Two separate ATM card swap frauds reported in different parts of Ahmedabad have left customers cheated of a total of Rs 1.4 lakh. Police registered offences against unidentified accused on Tuesday.In the first case registered with Anandnagar police, a 47-year-old homemaker from Satellite alleged that two unidentified men swapped her ATM card while she was depositing cash at a cash deposit machine near Prernatirth Derasar on May 13.According to the complaint, the woman had visited the branch to deposit Rs 50,000. Three currency notes worth Rs 800 were rejected by the machine, after which two men standing nearby offered to exchange the notes. Police said the accused allegedly took advantage of the situation and swapped her ATM card. Within 15 minutes, Rs 40,000 was withdrawn in four transactions from an ATM in the Hastinapur area. Anandnagar police registered a case of cheating and abetment under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.In another case registered with Sarkhej police, a 26-year-old staff nurse employed at Sola Civil Hospital alleged that fraudsters swapped her father’s ATM card outside an ATM kiosk near Makarba headquarters on May 16.The complainant told police that after withdrawing Rs 10,000, an unidentified man approached her claiming that her ATM transaction was still active and asked her to reinsert the card to cancel the process. The accused allegedly observed the PIN during the transaction and later swapped the card.Police said the complainant later discovered that Rs 1 lakh had been withdrawn through multiple ATM transactions. The family realized the fraud after noticing that the ATM card in their possession belonged to another individual.Sarkhej police registered offences of cheating, theft and abetment under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against unidentified persons.