By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The State Police have busted a gang involved in ATM theft cases and arrested two Assam based criminals on May 20.
The duo – Ranjit Medi Giri and Biju Singh – who hailed from Pandu area of the Assam capital, was involved in fraudulently withdrawing money from the ATMs after stealing the ATM cards from customers.
The two accused had withdrawn money from a State Bank of India (SBI) ATM counter located in Jaiaw Pdeng after stealing the ATM card of a customer.
“We managed to arrest the two people after the person whose ATM card was stolen received a message in his mobile phone that some amount of money was withdrawn from his account. The person whose ATM card was stolen was quick to inform the police about this,” Additional SP (Crime) Vivek Syiem told reporters here on Friday.
Syiem said that the police managed to arrest the duo from near the ATM counter in Jaiaw Pdeng.
“Initially, they had tried to mislead the police by claiming that they were tourists and wanted to go to Sohra. But after thorough interrogation, they finally confessed to their involvement in the withdrawal of money from the ATM,” Syiem said while adding that a third accused managed to flee from the scene.
According to Syiem, ATM theft cases have seen a spurt in the past three years.
Quoting official figures, Syiem informed that six cases of ATM theft were reported in 2006, while 12 cases were reported in 2012. Seven cases have already have been registered from January till May 2013, he added.
“In majority of the cases, it is found that people write their secret pin number in the ATM card itself. It is because of this reason that criminals can easily withdraw money from the ATMs,” Syiem said.
Informing about the modus operandi of the criminals, Syiem said that they target those ATM counters with two ATM machines.
“They would occupy one of the ATM in advance. They would allow the unsuspecting ATM user to swipe his card and then the accused would ask him to use the other machine on the pretext that the first one is not working,” he said.
Then, the second accused would enter the counter and use the machine where the user had already swiped his card.
“He would notice his pin and withdraw the cash from the first machine,” Syiem said, adding, “We have been informed that there many customers who have been duped in this manner.”
Syiem said that among other tricks which the fraudsters use is they try to exchange the ATM cards of the customers.
The police official urged the customers to secure their pin number to prevent such theft.
“While withdrawing money from the ATM, the customers should cover the keypad with one of their hand so that no one can see their pin number,” he said while adding that a customer should avoid seeking help from a stranger in case there is any problem with the ATMs.
The senior police official also urged the customers to complete the transaction after swiping their card or should wait until the welcome image resumes in the monitor.
He also urged the customers to register their mobile numbers with their respective bank branches so that they could be alerted on every transaction being made from their accounts.