Hyderabad: Hyderabad police arrested three persons for ATM fraud, and seized Rs 7.60 lakh cash, 105 bank ATM cards and a fake police ID card from the accused. The operation was carried out by the commissioner’s task force (south zone) in collaboration with the Bahadurpura police.
The arrested ere Vakil Ali, a 45-year-old cattle feed trader from Haryana, Farman, 23, private company employee from Uttar Pradesh, and Obaid Arif, 30, cloth shop worker from Hyderabad. Two other members of the gang, Islam and Gullu from Uttar Pradesh, are absconding.The gang targeted senior citizens, women and illiterate individuals at ATM kiosks. Under the pretext of assisting with transactions, they would observe the victims' PIN, and swap their ATM cards with similar-looking ones.
The gang then used the stolen cards to withdraw money from nearby ATMs or make purchases through POS machines. They were suspected of involvement in 18 offences, 10 in Telangana, two each in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and four in Odisha.In an incident that took place in the Bahadurpura on December 22, 2024, the gang duped a victim and withdrew Rs 2.03 lakh. Following a complaint, the Bahadurpura police registered a case and launched an investigation. Acting on information, the police arrested the suspects and seized the stolen money, ATM cards, vehicles and other items used in the crimes.The arrests were made under the supervision of Ande Srinivasa Rao, additional deputy commissioner of police, task force, Hyderabad, and inspector S. Raghav.