Fake ATM card racket run by Romanians busted, two arrested

Busting a fake ATM card racket allegedly run by a four-member gang of Romanians, police on Tuesday arrested two of them on the charge of defrauding 46 people in Hyderabad of Rs 35 lakh from their accounts using cloned cards. Vasile Gabriel Razvan and his friend Buricea Alexandru Mihai were the ones arrested. The other two, Ticu Bogdan Costinel and Puica Eugn Marian, are absconding and a search is on to nab them," Cyberabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar said.

Police acted on complaints from 46 persons over fraudulent cash withdrawal from their bank accounts in Mumbai. During investigation, they identified four ATM centres in Mumbai from where the amounts were withdrawn by the accused. Explaining on the modus operandi of the accused, the Commissioner said Gabriel hatched a plan to collect the debit cards data from ATMs by placing skimmers and shared his plan with the others.

Subsequently, he obtained business visas to his gang members to visit India, the Commissioner said. Gabriel and Alexandru came to Hyderabad in December 2017 and identified ATM kiosks having no security guards. As per Gabriel's instruction, Bogdan and Marian came here and placed the skimmers at various ATMs during February-March period. After collecting the data, Bogdan and Marian left India in April. The same month, Gabriel and Alexandru went to Mumbai with the data, cloned the cards and withdrew Rs 35 lakh from different ATMs, he said.

The two were arrested yesterday when they again came to Hyderabad, the official added. Police seized cash totalling Rs 35 lakh, 196 skimmed cards, six ATM card skimmers and one laptop from the accused.

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