Axis bank blocks 5,000 ATM cards

After lodging a complaint about various instances of money withdrawn in foreign lands using clone cards, Axis Bank as a security measure has blocked and withdrawn over 5,000 ATM cards.

The bank lodged a complaint with the Colaba police after 37 persons, including 15 policemen, reported withdrawals in Greece from their accounts. The bank has also blocked transactions from Greece using their debit cards, said an officer from Colaba police station. “The account holders whose debit cards have been blocked will be issued new cards and ATM passwords,” the officer said.

The data from the ATM near the office of the DGP, Maharashtra, was collected using a skimmer in April. The information was then either transferred physically or electronically to Greece and was used to make plastic cards that were used in June for withdrawals, explained deputy commissioner of police (zone-1) Ravindra Shisve.

Police suspect that the skimmer, which can be fitted easily by sticking it to the machine, could have been stuck and removed more than once.

The police suspect insider involvement and will record the statement of the ATM security guard, technician and even bank employees if necessary.  They are also looking at records of visitors from Greece who lived in the area between April and June. The police has also asked Axix bank to release the CCTV footage of the ATM.

What is credit card cloning?
The magnetic chip on cards contains customer data which is read by the machine during transactions. It is possible to doctor the machine and retrieve data which is then used to clone credit cards.