Mumbai: In a shocking incident from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) area, a case of ATM card cloning and fraudulent withdrawals totaling Rs.1.19 lakh has surfaced from the ATM kiosk situated inside Mumbai's General Post Office (GPO). The MRA Marg police have registered an FIR against an unknown individual based on a complaint filed by a GPO official and launched a probe.
According to MRA Marg Police, Vitthal Govindrao Pallewad (40), an officer with the GPO in Complaint and Investigation Department, reported that between 2020 and 2021, several fraudulent transactions were identified across ATM machines installed by the Postal Savings Bank Department of India Post. The Assistant Director General in New Delhi received a report from the Payment Channel Division in Bengaluru highlighting 15,288 fraudulent transactions involving cloned debit cards across 356 ATM machines nationwide.
Specifically, within the Maharashtra postal circle, 496 such transactions occurred across 27 ATM machines. Of these, 17 fraudulent withdrawals were traced to the ATM installed inside Mumbai GPO, amounting to ₹1,19,100. The fraudsters allegedly used cloned debit cards of various banks to carry out the illegal transactions.
The complaint included specific data about each transaction, including bank name, ATM card number, location, time, and the withdrawn amount. After internal verification, the GPO filed a formal complaint with MRA Marg Police Station.
Police have registered a case against unknown persons and are investigating the possibility of a larger ATM card cloning racket. Further investigation is underway.
