Rajasthan police has cracked down multi-state financial fraud misusing the RBI guideline, which says that in case of failed ATM transaction, banks have to reverse the failed transaction within 6 days of the transaction date.
Rajasthan Additional Director General of Police (Crime) Dinesh M N said that the police has arrested five fraudsters of Mewat gang who used to board flights and siphon of money from bank ATMs in states like Telangana, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.
These fraudsters are said to be in this business for last seven years and have never been caught before.
The Modus Operandi:
These fraudsters would borrow ATM cards of bank account holders from Rajasthan. They would then withdraw money through fraudulent ways (described below) and would hand over 50% amount to the card holder as commission.
The fraudsters would then go to ATMs of rural area of another state which lacks CCTV or proper lighting facilities. They would withdraw cash from that ATM and would ask the account holder to register a complaint with bank branch having his account regarding stucking up of the cash in the machine while withdrawal.
After receiving the complaint, bank manager of the mother branch would send a mail to the branch manager of the branch from where transaction was done. These fraudsters were well aware that it takes time in verification of the stuck up transactions. So they not only get away with the withdrawal cash but also would manage to get the disputed cash back in the account of the ATM card holder citing the RBI guidelines on failed ATM transactions.
The other Method:
This needs two people in action. Again they choose ATM of rural branch with low visibility. One person gets into the ATM and the other mans the power switch outside the ATM. The moment the person inside the ATM booth inserts the card in the machine and the moment cash comes out the other person handling the power switch disconnects the power supply. That way the cash comes out in a failed transaction without any deduction in the account.
Banks branches in seven states were target
ADG (Crime) Dinesh MN said that the accused used to travel frequently through flights in states like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Assam and Maharashtra to commit frauds.
They have siphoned of money from various branches of banks like Bhadradi Urban Cooperative Bank (Telangana), Bank of India (Madhya Pradesh), Banas Kanta Bank (Gujarat) and other cooperative banks which are deficient in IT security. Police will assess the quantum of fraud after collecting information about such transactions from these bank branches.
How Police nabbed culprits
Rajasthan Crime Branch was keeping a tight vigil on the activities of these gangs. Their mobiles were on surveillance. Crime Branch got a tip that few fraudsters are flying down to Jaipur from Hyderabad. ADG (Crime) Dinesh MN swung into action. He made two teams led by Additional SPs and laid a trap outside the Jaipur airport. The moment accused landed, police nabbed them.
The police recovered 75 ATM cards and cash of Rs 2.31 lakh from accused – Zuber, Lukman Deen, Saddam, Mushtaq and Idrees, who belong to Deeg in Bharatpur district.
ADG Dinesh MN said that the police is conducting a thorough investigation in this case and will crack down on entire gang after collecting information from them. The ;police will also take action against ATM card holders and find out their role in this entire scam.
The BuckStopper, run by a group of seasoned journalists, holds the powerful accountable. The buck stops with them, as they cannot shrug off their official responsibilities.
