Three held in ATM fraud bust, police seize 69 fake cards

Bengaluru: In separate incidents, the Bengaluru police have arrested three people involved in scamming unsuspecting ATM users in the city.

In the first case, Begur police arrested Sagar, alias Dilip, also known as “Dadiya Dilip,” a Shivamogga resident who specifically travelled to Bengaluru to defraud ATM users. Dilip is currently facing charges in at least three cases within the city.

Police said Sagar loitered outside ATM kiosks, observing users who struggled to withdraw money. He would then offer assistance, taking the user’s ATM card and slyly swapping it with a different card before returning it, claiming it wasn’t working.

Begur police caught Sagar in the act while he was waiting outside an ATM kiosk in their jurisdiction. On his arrest, he allegedly confessed to his crimes, and police seized 32 “non-operational” ATM cards from his possession.

Police said Sagar would visit Bengaluru as needed, staying for one or two days to carry out his scams before returning to Shivamogga. He is also linked to similar cases registered at Upparpet and Chandra Layout police stations.

In another incident, Subramanyapura police arrested two people who employed a similar method to cheat ATM users.

The suspects, Vivek Kumar, 28, and Chunilal Kumar, 24, both hail from Bihar. Police seized 37 ATM cards from their possession.