Bulgarian clones card to withdraw Rs 40,000, held

MUMBAI: Bandra police on Sunday arrested a Bulgarian national for stealing the debit card details of a 30-year-old bank employee and using them to clone her card and withdraw Rs40,000. The victim found out the ATM kiosk from where the withdrawals had been made and submitted closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage to the cops. Milan Evano Dwaranaski (44) was nabbed when he revisited the Bank of India ATM on SV Road, Bandra (West), on July 20 night.
Police have seized at least 15 plain white plastic cards similar in dimensions to debit or credit cards. "Dwaranaski has clammed up, claiming he does not know English," said sub-inspector Bhimsen Gaikwad. The accused arrived in Mumbai on May 30 on a tourist visa and has been residing in Andheri (East). Probe is on to find out if he is part of a bigger racket.
Bandra police senior inspector, Girish Anavkar, said the bank employee got a slew of text alerts on July 18 midnight. Four transactions of Rs10,000 were carried out from her bank account though the debit card was with her.
The woman immediately blocked the card. She later got CCTV footage of the ATM from where the withdrawals had been made. Based on the footage, a police team kept a watch at the kiosk for 24 hours. When Dwaranaski walked in, they immediately recognized the accused and nabbed him.
"The accused may be part of a racket that steals card details and PIN numbers by fitting a skimmer in the ATM machine. The other possibility is the accused is part of an online hacker group that sends mails seeking card details claiming the system is undergoing upgradation and steals card details to clone cards," said a police officer.