Card cloning: 16 from Powai lose over Rs 3 lakh

MUMBAI: ATM cards of at least 16 people were cloned and Rs3.5 lakh was withdrawn within a few hours. Since all complainants were from Powai, police suspect the fraudsters used skimmers in ATM machines or in devices used by shops in the area to steal card details and then cloned the cards.
The victims approached Powai police on April 12 after amounts ranging from Rs10,000 to Rs1 lakh was withdrawn.
Police are scanning CCTV footage of ATM centres in Powai and have alerted banks with ATM kiosks in the area. "It could be a case of card cloning. In all cases, the victims got transaction alerts and the card was present with them when the money was withdrawn," said a police officer.
The first victim, Prajwal Shetty, lodged a complaint after he received alerts of a total Rs 1 lakh being withdrawn. Even as police were registering Shetty's complaint, four other victims came to lodge complaints with the number climbing to 16 by evening. "Money was withdrawn between the night of April 11 and April 12 morning," said police.
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