Two weeks after several people complained about having lost money from their accounts after using an ATM in Kalkaji, the police have not found any of the cloning devices that are usually used in such thefts. This has made them suspect that the machine might have actually been hacked using a different mechanism.
Senior police officers confirmed that several cases had been registered recently after people complained of money being debited from their accounts. The common thread was that all of them had recently used an ATM near DDA flats at Kalkaji in south Delhi. Some even lost lakhs of rupees after using the ATM.
The initial probe had indicated the use of a skimmer a machine that is covertly plugged into an ATM to create a copy of the card. The skimmer is usually attached to the place where the card is swiped or, else, an overlay device is put on the keypad of the machine, which notes the PIN of the user. However, investigating officers were surprised to find that none of these bugs were used at the machine in Kalkaji. This made them suspect that the gang at work might have hacked the machine’s computer system to cheat more than a dozen people in quick succession.
Police feel that the machine in question might have been attacked with a malware first. The hackers may have then let people use the infected machine, thereby compromising their account details. Cops also suspect that after getting the details, the hackers might have copied them on blank cards and carried out transactions in Mumbai. The police are checking the role of an insider, who may have known about security loopholes in the bank’s network.
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