Bagepallli police arrest two persons in card-swapping fraud

The Bagepalli police on Tuesday arrested two former car sales executives who allegedly used to cheat people visiting ATM kiosks via a card-swapping fraud.

The accused would move around the kiosks and offer to help people withdraw cash. While one of the accused would be busy in conducting the transaction in the kiosk, his associate would deliberately get inside, and the duo would start arguing. In the melee, they would replace the ATM card with a fake one and hand over the fake card to the victim and escape, said the police.

Using this technique, the duo cheated Naseema Sultana, a school teacher, and emptied her salary account after replacing her card on June 16.

Based on a complaint, the Bagepalli Town police analysed over 100 CCTV camera footage for a month before zeroing in on Thimmarayappa, 40, and Manjunath T., 38, from Malur town in Kolar district.

The police have also recovered ₹1 lakh in cash and 38 ATM cards from the accused. With their arrest the police have cracked such cases reported in and around Chickballapur district. The accused have even committed similar offences in different parts of Andhra Pradesh, according to the police.

The police are trying to track down the victims based on the seized ATM cards. The police have advised the people to be careful and not to entertain strangers while visiting ATM kiosks.

Published - October 31, 2024 07:00 am IST