Pensioner loses Rs 1.5 lakh in ATM card swap fraud

Ludhiana: The Division Number 3 police have registered a case of fraud against an unidentified accused who allegedly withdrew ₹1.5 lakh after offering to help a person at an ATM. The accused swapped the ATM card of an elderly man under the guise of assistance and withdrew money from his account. The complainant, Charanjit Singh, 59, of Ambedkar Nagar, told police that on March 29, he visited an ATM at the Dharmapura branch to withdraw cash from his wife Manjit Kaur's account. He stated that the transaction failed while he was attempting to insert the card.According to the complainant, the unidentified accused, who was already present at the booth, lured him with the pretext of offering help. While engaging him in conversation, the accused cleverly swapped the original ATM card and handed him a fake one. The complainant alleged that after the switch, the accused withdrew approximately ₹1.5 lakh from various locations. The family discovered the fraud only after receiving SMS alerts regarding the unauthorized withdrawals. Following the report, Division Number 3 police registered a case under Sections 318 (4) and 303 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).Cops stated that they are currently checking CCTV footage from the ATM, the bank, and nearby locations to identify the accused. Local sources suggested the incident indicates that an ATM card-swapping gang has become active again in Ludhiana. Previous CrackdownAround March 15, Ludhiana rural police arrested Sanjeev Kumar of Dream City on Noorwala Road in Jagraon for allegedly duping people by swapping ATM cards under the pretext of help. Police stated the accused would replace victims' cards to withdraw money and recovered 20 ATM cards from his possession at the time of his arrest.