An ingenious gang adept at extracting cash from ATM machines using custom gadgets was caught by the police in Sambhal, UP. The detained suspects made astonishing revelations during interrogation, confessing they had learned these theft tactics from videos on Instagram. The culprits, Sunny Singh from Badaun and Neeraj Pratap Singh from Rohini, Delhi, admitted to their crimes.
The devious duo was caught red-handed in Chandausi for installing plates atop the ATM dispensers, preventing cash from being disbursed. Upon the unsuspecting customer's departure, they would quickly extricate the trapped notes. This treacherous technique was, indeed, picked up from Instagram tutorials.
The con artists also swapped out people's cards
The police disclosed that the thugs had other tricks up their sleeves. Pretending to assist ATM users unfamiliar with the machines, they would commit fraud by swapping bank cards. The authorities recovered over a dozen ATM cards, two mobile phones, cash, and a car from this criminal posse.
ATM tampering incident on March 21 in Chandausi
Information surfaced regarding an incident on March 21, where police at the Chandausi station launched an investigation into account-tampering at the IDBI Bank ATM. Under the direction of SP Kuldeep Singh Gunawat and led by CO Chandausi Dr. Pradeep Singh, the probe into this money extraction scheme began.
CCTV footage unravels the gang's operations
Following a meticulous review of CCTV footage, the Chandausi police managed to detain two individuals from Badaun and Rohini, Delhi—Sunny Singh and Neeraj Pratap Singh—on Saturday. The inspection led to unveiling the criminal gang's ATM skimming operations.
During questioning, the culprits confessed to their crimes
The two detainees confessed to their ongoing schemes of manipulating bank ATMs to withdraw customer funds. Furthermore, they revealed the shocking methods they used to commit these thefts during interrogation.
Fiber plates installed in dispenser machines
The apprehended suspects revealed their tactic of attaching a fiber plate to the ATM dispensers using a tape matching the machine's color. As a result, when customers attempted to withdraw cash, the transaction would proceed, but the funds would not dispense. The fraudsters would then collect the money once the client left, bagging both the recently transacted amount and any previously stuck in the machine.
Several ATM cards and cash seized
SP Kuldeep Singh Gunawat announced that a case of ATM modification leading to fraudulent withdrawals had been filed at the Chandausi station. Following the case, Neeraj Pratap Singh and Sunny Singh were arrested. The police found 14 ATM cards on the suspects, believed to be obtained through conning individuals. Additionally, they seized two mobile phones, a fiber sheet, a cash amount of INR 24,260, a PAN card, and a car potentially used for reconnaissance.
