New con uses sunmica, glue to steal ATM cash in Mumbai

MUMBAI: A 26-year-old man who used sunmica strip and glue to steal cash from unguarded ATMs was caught red-handed in Malad East recently.
Before a customer would enter the kiosk, Pawan Kumar Paswan would cover the cash dispensation slot with a laminate strip and stick it to block currency notes from being dispensed. He would remove the strip and pocket the money after the customer failed to withdraw cash and left.

He was nabbed, on January 4, by beat marshal Ramdas Bhurde who was alerted by a few locals that a man had been popping in and out of an ATM kiosk on Daftary Road. Bhurde kept a watch on the kiosk and caught Paswan. A search led to recovery of nine sunmica strips, glue bottles and Rs 2,000 cash.
Paswan, who lives in Virar, has been booked in a case of burglary in the past, said police.
Police writing to banks on new con at city ATMs
In what appears to be a new modus operandi in the city, a 26-year-old man used sunmica strip and glue to steal cash from ATMs. Pawan Kumar Paswan was caught red-handed recently.
"Before a customer entered the kiosk, Paswan covered the cash dispensation slot with a sunmica strip and glued it. He would then wait outside," said inspector Gajanan Patekar of Dindoshi police station. The customer would wait for the cash, unaware that the notes were in the slot but blocked by a sunmica strip. He would also receive a text message from the bank that the amount had been debited from the account. Presuming the machine had developed a technical fault, the customer would leave. Paswan would then enter the kiosk, remove the sunmica strip and extricate the notes from the cash slot, said police.
Police suspect Paswan has targeted other ATMs too. "We are writing to banks to find out how many customers have had a similar experience to get an idea about the extent of the fraud," a police officer said.
Beat marshal Ramdas Bhurde, who caught Paswan on January 4, was recently felicitated by joint commissioner Satyanarayan Chaudhary for his prompt action.
In previous instances, crooks would switch off the power supply to the ATM just as it was about to dispense cash. They would extricate notes from the slot and also complain to the bank seeking a refund, claiming that the machine had malfunctioned.