Mumbai: ₹ 9 Lakh withdrawn from Malad ATM using power error

Mumbai: The Malad police are on the lookout for three persons who allegedly carried out multiple fraudulent transactions using different debit cards at an ATM and siphoned off Rs 9.92 lakh over five days.

According to the police, the complainant in the case is the branch manager of a private bank in Malad (west). The bank also has an ATM kiosk adjacent to it and had appointed a private company for refilling cash and maintenance. On Oct 7, 2022, the company had submitted a report to the vigilance team of the bank informing them about less cash than was supposed to be in the ATM.
Suspecting fraudulent transactions, the vigilance team decided to check CCTV footage of the kiosk from Oct 3 to Oct 6. A technical analysis of the footage revealed that during the period of review, three persons in the age group of 20-22 years were involved in suspicious activities while using the ATM, thereby causing a technical glitch.

Further analysis revealed that the suspects would pull-out the power cord plug of the ATM, thereby creating a power interruption error in the machine, after which they would collect the dispensed cash from the machine. The bank later approached the police and got an offence registered in the matter. The suspects have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.

Similar cases in the past 

Dec '22: The Vile Parle police registered a case against two persons for allegedly withdrawing Rs60,000 via six transactions using different debit cards at an ATM by creating a power interruption error.

Dec '22: The Worli police registered a case against an unknown person for allegedly carrying out 37 transactions using 14 debit cards at two ATMs and withdrawing Rs4 lakh by creating a power interruption error.

Oct '22: Two persons were arrested by the Malad police in a similar fraud. The duo would cut off power to the ATM just as the cash was about to be dispensed. Once the machine halted operation, they would pocket the currency notes in such a way that it wouldn't get captured on the CCTV cameras.