These Haryana Youths Withdrew Cash From ATMs, Then Claimed Refunds! Cops, Bank Officers Dumbfounded

Ahmedabad: Officers of a State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Rajkot city were recently in for a shock when they discovered some customers were withdrawing money from their ATMs and then claiming refund for the same amount citing ‘failed’ transaction.

Suspecting a case of fraud, the officers lodged a complaint with the Rajkot city police.

After scanning CCTV footage of various ATMs and following tip-offs, police finally arrested two youths.

They were identified as Imran Hanif, 23, and Azhruddin Ilyas, 23, both residents of Mundheta village in Mewat district of Haryana.

The police officers were left dumbfounded when the accused explained their modus operandi.

“The accused confessed to have cheated the SBI in Rajkot of Rs 5.21 lakh with the help of ATM cards. The youths have committed similar crimes in Maharashtra, Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in a similar manner,’’ said Manoj Agrawal, Police Commissioner, Rajkot city.

“The youths got 60 ATM cards from villagers of the Mewat district and in return, they gave 50% of the transaction amount to the ATM card’s owners. First, they would deposit some money into the bank account of one of these villagers. Then they would visit an ATM, opt for cash withdrawal, but instead of taking out the notes immediately, they would turn off power supply to the ATM. The interruption in power supply halts entry log into cash withdrawal from the ATM. The youths would then make a call to the bank’s toll-free number to register a complaint for refund claiming that they did not receive cash from the ATM,’’ said police official.

Police said in the last one year, the accused have swindled cash worth Rs 10 lakh from several banks, including Axis, Bank of Baroda and Bank of India, across the country using the same modus operandi.

“We have seized from the youth a screw driver, 60 ATM cards, keys and a notebook with toll-free numbers of banks. During interrogation, names of other accused have cropped up and we have launched hunt to nab them,’’ said the police commissioner.