In yet another sensational case of credit card cloning, a Worli-based senior citizen lost `80,000. The money from her bank account was fraudulently used by the crooks for shopping in three cities in Texas, United States.
The complainant recently approached the Worli police and lodged an offence with them. Preliminary police probe indicates that the data of the credit card was stolen when the complainant’s son was using it in Udipi, Karnataka. Using this data, the crooks then cloned the card and used it for shopping in the
US.
According to the police, the complainant, Chandrakanta Tekwani (60), a resident of Sidhhinagar in Worli, was working with Canara Bank in Santa Cruz as a senior official when she had taken two credit cards from the bank on her name. Ms Tekwani, who retired from her service in April this year, had given these two credit cards to her son Rohit and daughter Seema for use.
Recently, Ms Tekwani received a few SMS alerts on her phone, as her credit cards were registered on her number, stating that some shopping had been done using the credit card. “Initially, Ms Tekwani did not suspect any foul play and was under the impression that her son Rohit, who is studying MBA in a private university in Udipi, Karnataka, might have used the card. But when she spoke to Rohit to check about the transaction, he said that he had not made those transactions. By the time she understood the goof-up and informed the bank to block the card, she had received as many as 23 SMS alerts stating about the transactions made on her credit card,” said an officer from the Worli police station. Initial inquiry revealed that her credit card was used for shopping worth `80,000 in three cities — Austin, Buda and Sealy — in Texas, US, the officer added.
Ms Tekwani then approached the Worli police on July 8 and lodged an offence under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and 66(c) and 66 (d) of the Information Technology Act.
“During the investigation it was revealed that complainant’s son had used the credit card in a local medical store and a D-mart shop in Udipi. There is possibility that the data from the said credit card might have stolen from these two places”, said another officer, adding, “It is still not clear that whether the data was stolen using skimmer or by some other tool”. A case in this regard has also been registered with Udipi police and concerned police is making a parallel probe in the matter.