Card’inal sin: Rs2.5 lakh lost to debit card skimming

The crime of skimming debit cards is making news again: Cubbon Park police alone have registered five cases wherein victims have lost about Rs2.5 lakh in total.

A city dweller, B Prabhakar, got the shock of his life on Monday morning when he got a SMS alert from his bank, informing him about transactions amounting to `58,000; he had never made the transactions. He, along with his friends, went to the bank to seek a clarification and file complaint about the illegal transactions. Upon verification, it was found that his card was used in different ATMs on and around MG Road.

The bank officials advised Prabhakar to take the help of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike. With two office-bearers of the organisation, Prabhakar went to his jurisdictional police station, Cubbon Park police, and lodged the complaint. That was when he came to know that the police station has received four similar cases. The total amount that has been fraudulently withdrawn comes to about Rs2.5 lakh.

The police suspect that the culprits might have fixed a magnetic tape in the card slot of ATM machines to execute their plan. The tape records the data of the card and enables duplicating the card.

The police said they have sought CCTV footages from the banks where the victims had used their cards. The police added that they suspect it is the handiwork of an organised gang.