New credit card scam unearthed

The Worli police has unearthed a new modus operandi adopted by online fraudsters and arrested two people in this connection, including a courier service boy. A Dadar-based man was baffled when he realised that money from his account was used to make online purchases using his credit card, which was never even delivered to him by the bank. After a probe, it was revealed that the man was a victim of a cloning racket in which fraudsters stole data of credit cards even before they were delivered to customers via courier services. The racketeers would then use the credit card details to clone them and make online purchases worth lakhs of rupees. The arrested accused have been identified as Abrar Anwar Khan (24) and Khalil Akhtar Ansari. According to the police, Abrar is an employee of a well-known courier firm. His courier firm was given the contract of delivering confidential envelopes, containing credit cards of a private bank to its customers between Worli and Nariman Point areas. While explaining the modus operandi, an officer from Worli police said, “To access the credit card data, the gang involved a courier delivery boy, Abrar. Abrar would give the envelopes that he got for delivery to the gang members, who would gently open them, steal the data, and then put the cards back in the envelopes and seal them to avoid any suspicion. The gang members would then clone the cards using the stolen data and with their help make online purchases worth lakhs.” The police found out about the new modus operandi after the Dadar-based victim approached the bank. The bank, after carrying out a preliminary probe, intimated the police saying that their customer’s credit card was misused, despite it not even being delivered to him. Initial probe by the police revealed the courier boy’s involvement in the racket. Abrar led the police to Ansari, a Nagpada resident. Interrogation of the accused revealed that the gang had cloned data of six credit cards in the same way and made online purchases worth '3.23 lakh from September 2 to 21, 2013.