17-08-2013, 04:25 PM
India's First ATM Card Fraud
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INTRODUCTION
The Chennai City Police have busted an international gang involved in cyber crime, with the arrest of Deepak Prem Manwani (22), who was caught red-handed while breaking into an ATM in the city in June last, it is reliably learnt.
The dimensions of the city cops' achievement can be gauged from the fact that they have netted a man who is on the wanted list of the formidable FBI of the United States.
At the time of his detention, he had with him Rs 7.5 lakh knocked off from two ATMs in T Nagar and Abiramipuram in the city. Prior to that, he had walked away with Rs 50,000 from an ATM in Mumbai.
While investigating Manwani's case, the police stumbled upon a cyber crime involving scores of persons across the globe.
Manwani is an MBA drop-out from a Pune college and served as a marketing executive in a Chennai-based firm for some time.
Interestingly, his audacious crime career started in an Internet cafe. While browsing the Net one day, he got attracted to a site which offered him assistance in breaking into the ATMs. His contacts, sitting somewhere in Europe, were ready to give him credit card numbers of a few American banks for $5 per card. The site also offered the magnetic codes of those cards, but charged $200 per code.
The operators of the site had devised a fascinating idea to get the personal identification number (PIN) of the card users. They floated a new site which resembled that of a reputed telecom company's.
That company has millions of subscribers. The fake site offered the visitors to return $11.75 per head which, the site promoters said, had been collected in excess by mistake from them.
Believing that it was a genuine offer from the telecom company in question, several lakh subscribers logged on to the site to get back that little money, but in the process parted with their PINs.
Armed with all requisite data to hack the bank ATMs, the gang started its systematic looting.
Apparently, Manwani and many others of his ilk entered into a deal with the gang behind the site and could purchase any amount of data, of course on certain terms, or simply enter into a deal on a booty-sharing basis.
5 Common types of ATM frauds and tips on how to deal with them
1. Cash-trapping works by the Ruler Gang
The Ruler Gang uses a device that looks like a ruler to trap cash in ATMs. A member of the group will install a “false ATM presenter” or a fabricated ruler device into the cash shutter of the ATM. A customer who will withdraw amount to said ATM will not notice the device and when he tries to get the money withdrawn, he will have a hard time since the cash will be trapped inside. When the disappointed customer leaves the ATM to ask for assistance, a member of the Ruler Gang will thereafter remove the device including the cash still glued on it.
2. Salisi Gang
A customer who is about to withdraw the cash dispensed by the ATM will be distracted by a member of the Salisi Gang by dropping several loose coins and bills. The distractor will ask the help of the customer to pick up dropped items. Once the cardholder is busy assisting, another member of the gang will immediately get the cash waiting at the cash out shutter and leave immediately.
Another version of this is, one member of the gang will replace the ATM card being used by the withdrawer in a matter of split seconds. Someone who is “shoulder surfing” or looking over the shoulder of the cardholder to see the PIN, will tell the said PIN number to another member who stole the original card and both will withdraw the remaining balance before the card is reported lost or stolen by the cardholder.
3. Forced Withdrawal and Hold Ups
This is when the cardholder is coerced to make ATM transactions against his or her will.
4. Fake PIN Pad Overlay
This is a fabricated device that looks exactly the machine’s keypad, it is placed beside it to capture the PIN of the cardholder.
5. Card skimmers
Card skimmers use a card reader that can capture the data in the magnetic strip of the card. This is usually used in credit cards but cardholders must still be aware that is can also be used for ATM cards.