DIMAPUR/NOKLAK, AUGUST 9 (MExN): The Dimapur police arrested one person for allegedly defrauding the Nagaland State Cooperative Bank (NStCB) of Rs 2 crore through a series of fraudulent ATM chargeback claims. The accused, identified as Gyanendra Singh (26 years) from Gonda district, Uttar Pradesh was arrested following an almost two-month surveillance orchestrated by the Dimapur police.
The complaint was filed by the NStCB in the month of June, in which the bank stated that it incurred huge financial loss during 2020-21 after “unknown people” raised “falsified chargeback claims on ATM transactions through multiple ATM cards of various banks” and in the process losing Rs 2 crore.
The modus operandi involved raising chargeback requests on grounds of failed ATM transactions or claiming that the requested amount was debited from the account even though the ATM failed to dispense cash.
According to a press release from the Dimapur police, the accused revealed that he had used the ATM/debit cards of several bank accounts opened in various banks, particularly in Chandigarh and Uttar Pradesh, to carry out the fraud. He would then travel to Dimapur to withdraw cash from NStCB ATMs.
“On successful withdrawal of cash the individual would travel back to other states and make false chargebacks from the parent bank branch on the concocted claim that during the ATM withdrawal process, the amount was debited from his account even though the ATM could not dispense the required cash,” the release.
His luck ran out on August 5 when he was tracked down in Chümoukedima. A Dimapur police official said that he was arrested soon after he withdrew cash from an NStCB ATM.
The police recovered six ATM cards issued by the Punjab National Bank and State Bank of India from his possession, alongwith an Aadhar card and a flight ticket.
Noklak police nabs two for fraud
In another case, the Noklak police arrested two persons from Uttar Pradesh for duping an unnamed person in Noklak of Rs 34 lakh through an online scam. A press release from the Noklak police informed that the arrested individuals, identified as Dheeraj Pandey (22 years) and Rahul Pandey (20 years), had posed as “SBI Bank Manager” to defraud the victim of money.
Their modus operandi involved targeting unsuspecting victims with SMS or voice calls while posing as bank managers or Treasury officers. Victims, who fell for the trick, were asked to download software or applications to gain remote access to their phones.
They would then remotely install and use popular third party payment apps to transfer money to multiple bank accounts from the victim’s account.
“It is also learnt that the members of the gang possesses multiple fake accounts in payment apps as well as fake bank accounts through which they transfer money from one account to another. The gang mostly operates from UP, West Bengal and Jamtara, Jharkhand. Investigation is going on to arrest other gang members also,” the release added.
