Million Of Rupees Withdrawn Through ATMs Skimming

Million of rupees withdrawn through ATMs skimming

Hundreds of thousands of rupees have been skimmed out of 32 accounts of a private bank located in the Saddar area of Rawalpindi, indicating the presence of ATM hackers in the twin cities including Islamabad.

RAWALPINDI, (Pakistan Point News - 17th Jan, 2018) : Hundreds of thousands of rupees have been skimmed out of 32 accounts of a private bank located in the Saddar area of Rawalpindi, indicating the presence of ATM hackers in the twin cities including Islamabad. Reports of unauthorized withdrawals have caused widespread panic among account holders, whereas the bank’s staff seem helpless in the face of the security breach, simply promising those affected that their stolen monies will be returned within 45 days.

One of the 32 affectees is a student named Aliza. She said while talking to media persons she was studying in Malaysia when she got a weekly statement from her bank, showing Rs400,000 in unauthorized withdrawals between January 13 and 14. She said she borrowed money from friends and immediately flew back home, where she was assured by bank manager Kamran Yousuf that her money would be returned within 45 days. The bank manager told media that ATM hackers had also stolen from the accounts of the bank’s own staff, with a bulk of withdrawals made in Karachi.

The manager said that 1,800 ATMs have been blocked across Pakistan, while the bank’s higher-ups have sought the State Bank’s help in dealing with the problem. In December hundreds of citizens in Pakistan have lost millions of rupees over a couple of weeks after they fell prey to an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) skimming fraud, whereas the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has started probe into the matter under the Cyber Crime Act.

Three more Chinese arrested in ATM Skimming Fraud On January 14, three more Chinese nationals were arrested Sunday on suspicion of ATM skimming, the latest in a series of arrests linked to an organised gang behind a major electronic bank fraud in the city. Police said the three men were caught red-handed trying to install a skimming device on an ATM in the upscale Defence Housing Authority (DHA) locality, only hours after a similar arrest from the Tipu Sultan Road area.