Dharmapuri: Three men from Karnataka were arrested on Sunday night in connection with an ATM card swapping fraud at the State Bank of India (SBI) kiosk near Palacode bus stand on May 10.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Syed Hussain, 28, from Saptapur, Ansar Ali, 28, and Krishnan, 30, both from Kalaburagi.
According to a police officer from Palacode station, on May 10, when Bharathi of Sengodapatti attempted to withdraw cash from the SBI kiosk, she was deceived into handing over her ATM card and PIN to unknown persons. The suspects then swapped her card and withdrew Rs 66,000.
Following the incident, she lodged a police complaint, leading to the registration of a case by Palacode police. Police examined CCTV camera footage and traced the suspects to Karnataka based on vehicle registration details.
During interrogation, the trio confessed to their involvement in the card swapping fraud, along with another accomplice named Krishnamurthy from Andhra Pradesh, who police said is the mastermind.
All three have been remanded in judicial custody, while a hunt is on for the key accused.
Modus Operandi
The fraudsters allegedly targeted victims at ATMs by offering help and then swapping the card. They used the PIN obtained to withdraw cash.
Investigation
Police used CCTV footage and vehicle registration to track the suspects across state lines. The mastermind remains at large.
