Haripad: In a ATM fraud case, two men from Uttar Pradesh have been arrested for executing high-tech robberies without the banks detecting the transactions. Rahul Maurya (29) from Kanpur and Dharmendra Sahu (33) from Jabalpur were apprehended by Haripad police in Kalavoor, Alappuzha. The suspects were staying in a  rented accommodation and had plans to target multiple ATMs in the district. Around 40 ATM cards issued under fake addresses were recovered from them.

How the Fraud Worked

The suspects used a sophisticated method to withdraw money without the bank's servers recording the transaction. This caused loss to private companies managing the ATMs rather than the account holders or the banks.

The process involved:

  1. Inserting an ATM card and initiating a withdrawal.

  2. Continuously pressing the keypad as the money was dispensed, causing the system to hang.

  3. Opening the ATM's front cover and pressing the reset button, preventing the transaction from being logged on the bank's server.

  4. The transaction was then marked as canceled, even though the money was withdrawn.

Breakthrough in Investigation

The police identified the suspects through meticulous examination of CCTV footage and a series of clues:

  • The suspects used a scooter with a manipulated number plate. The thieves arrived in Karuvatta on a scooter bearing the number KL 04-T-5011.The missing "A" in the plate number before ’T’ helped trace the rented vehicle. 

  • The white shoes worn by the suspects matched those seen in earlier footage.

  • Their movements along the national highway led to their rented residence in Alappuzha.

The suspects were arrested when they returned the scooter to the rental agency.

Karuvatta Incident Details

The Karuvatta ATM robbery occurred on December 19 at 12:30 PM at a Tata Company ATM near Ashram Junction. Two helmeted men carried out the fraud, using the reset-button trick to bypass transaction logs. Their actions triggered an alarm, but they managed to flee on a scooter when a nearby shop employee intervened.

Police Response

The cyber wing of the Kerala police has confirmed that this is a novel form of high-tech fraud previously unseen in the state. The arrests mark a significant step in combating such crimes, and further investigations are underway to uncover the extent of the operation.