Card-cloning gang robs Trombay bouncer of his money; illegal transactions made from across India
In July 2017, Akbar Sheikh's grandfather sold a shop he owned in Kurla for a considerable chunk of money. Soon after, the elderly man distributed the money between his children. Akbar Sheikh's father, Jaffar Hameed Shaikh, received Ra 2 lakh in two installments from the senior citizen. While Jaffar received the first installment of Ra 1 lakh in July, he got the remaining amount in September. Jaffar made sure to immediately deposit the entire amount in their joint account at Hindustan Co-op Bank. All was fine until a bank transaction on January 7 revealed that only Rs 796.50 was stored in the account. Akbar rushed to the cops who found that a card cloning gang had conned the family of lakhs, over the past four months.
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Akbar, 24, who works at a bouncer at a city-based pub said that the family is devastated with the news. In his statement to the cops, Akbar said, "I went to an ATM in November to withdraw Rs 400 and I remember seeing the balance as Rs 1,69,000. It should have struck me then because the balance in the account should have been Rs 2,00,000. But, I thought there was some problem with the ATM machine. After purchasing a mobile phone on January 7, I used my card to find only Rs 796.50 in it. I rushed to the nearest branch of the bank and they gave me my account statement which shows cash withdrawal records from across the country."
Akbar Sheikh holds an account with the Hindustan Co-op Bank
Police sources suspect a single card cloning gang is responsible for the incident. Speaking to mid-day, a Trombay police officer said, "We checked the bank records, including the passbook, of Akbar to find that this card cloning gang, over the past four months, made at least 31 cash withdrawal transactions. The gang used the card details to withdraw cash from cities like New Delhi, Ghaziabad and Thane."
The officer confirmed that a case under Section 420 of the IPC for fraud has been filed against unknown individuals.
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