ATM card cloning racket kingpin held

LUCKNOW: Do not keep debit/ credit card away from your sight while making transactions at merchant points as it may allow fraudsters to steal its magnetic strip data for card cloning.

The arrest of cloning racket kingpin, Sumit Jhingran from a Lucknow hotel by UP Special Task Force (STF) on Tuesday revealed that he had formed a gang of waiters at hotels, restaurants and salesmen at various showrooms/petrol pumps who helped him steal the data.

Jhingran had allegedly duped thousands of people of multiple crores using the same trick and many cases related to cloning were lodged against him in UP, Delhi, West Bengal, Haryana, Punjab and Mumbai.

Abhishek Singh, SSP, STF said Jhingran had formed a nexus of waiters, salesmen and other people across different states to steal magnetic data of customers’ ATM cards.

The kingpin had provided skimmers to his gang members who used to secretly capture the magnetic data of customers’ cards.

The SSP said the accused used to purchase this stolen data from these waiters and salesmen at ₹2,000 per card and later prepared the cloned cards by transferring the magnetic data on another card.

He said the counterfeited cards were later used for online and cash withdrawal transactions.

“The only way to avoid skimming is to not allow your ATM cards in others’ hands or to not lose sight of the card while making transactions at merchant points,” explained Triveni Singh, SP (STF) cyber crime cell.

He said the arrested kingpin revealed that he purchased skimmers from a supplier in Coimbatore.

Jhingran confessed that he learnt the trick of skimming from one Vicky while working at a call centre in Delhi in 2013-14.

Thereafter, he tried it on himself and his family members before getting into this cheating business and gradually formed a huge nexus during his visit to different hotels, restaurants and showrooms, added Singh. The SP said the counterfeiter tested the cloned cards for small amounts at provision stores.