An organized gang of IT experts involved in hacking Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and defrauding citizens has been apprehended in Karachi.
The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) conducted the operation that led to the arrest of the gang, which included a female accomplice, according to officials.
The SSP reported that the gang’s modus operandi involved hacking ATMs and positioning themselves outside banks. When a citizen’s card became stuck in the ATM, a gang member would pretend to assist by calling the helpline. During the process, they would extract the victim’s password and other sensitive information.
In a recent incident in Nazimabad, a senior citizen was defrauded of Rs450,000. CCTV footage captured the crime, clearly showing a woman and two accomplices involved in the act.
Police revealed that the gang has carried out similar operations in multiple cities, including Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi. Efforts are ongoing to dismantle their entire network. Citizens are urged to stay cautious while using ATMs and avoid accepting assistance from strangers.
Experts have also issued warnings to certain ATM card holders, highlighting the risks of losing funds if their passwords are easily guessable. Users are advised against using easily identifiable information, such as their date of birth or name, as their PIN code.
This advice was reinforced by a recent case in India, where a thief was arrested for stealing large sums from bank accounts by using the account holders’ dates of birth as their PINs.
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Our youth think it’s cool to mimick the criminals in Hollywood movies…… Can’t they use their knowledge to benefit society instead
There is another gang that puts elfi/glue on ATM keypad, the some repair services are called and those repair services are with the gang and put keylogger keypad on the existing leypad. Beware of AtMs im bahria town, multan chungi Lahore, the ones I saw myself. Guard and manager seem ignorant of the keylogger.