Police bust ATM fraud gang, nab 12

Patna: Patna police on Friday busted a major ATM fraud gang that used sophisticated methods to steal money from unsuspecting customers. Twelve members of the gang, including a bank employee, were arrested from the Gardanibagh police station area, though the mastermind is still at large.

Police said the gang tampered with ATMs by trapping cards and stealing PINs, which were later used to siphon money into mule accounts.

Patna SSP Kartikey K Sharma, while briefing reporters on the modus operandi, said, “The miscreants used to commit fraud in two ways. This includes gaming app and ATM fraud cases. These people used to apply glue in ATM machines, due to which the ATM card would get stuck in the machine. Right behind that person, a gang member would stand who would see the PIN.”

He said once the card got stuck, the customer would panic. “The gang would stick a fake helpline inside the ATM. After the card got stuck, the customer would call on this helpline number. The gang would call him outside the ATM on some pretext. After this, the person present in the ATM would withdraw money from the card,” Sharma said.

Police said the gang used mule accounts, opened with the help of bank employees, to transfer stolen money. About a year ago, on Jan 5, a resident of Parsa Bazar area in Patna visited a Central Bank of India ATM around 10.30am and withdrew Rs 10,000. After the transaction, the card did not come out of the machine.

Two people arrived on a motorcycle and advised him to visit a nearby bank or call a helpline number displayed inside the ATM. The number was switched off, and he left the card in the machine before heading to the bank. Soon after, he received alerts showing multiple withdrawals of Rs 10,000 each and later messages for jewellery purchases worth Rs 61,900.