Man arrested for using master key to tamper with ATMs

A man was arrested for tampering with several automated teller machines (ATMs) after withdrawing cash. The accused duped banks by claiming failed transactions in India’s Haryana state.

The police officials reported that the arrested male identified as a 33-year-old named Mohammad Sharif Ansari, coming from Hathin tehsil, Mewat in Haryana, has been accused of opening more than 10 ATMs in South Mumbai areas of Colaba, VP Road, DB Marg, Grant Road, and Gamdevi.

This week on January 08, the accused tried to open a Maharashtra Bank ATM near Bhatia Hospital in Nana Chowk, the bank’s server in Hyderabad received an alert regarding the tempering of ATMs machines in an unpermitted manner. Later, the local Police control room received the same complaint.

Prior to nabbing Ansari, Gamdevi police scanned the CCTV footage of several areas where the accused was seen, as he was slipped from police earlier. Ansari has been charged with theft of several ATMs, while currently remanded to police custody.

Police said in the statement that, the master key allegedly used to open ATMs has been recovered from the possession of Ansari, he also has several debit cards of his friends and quittances from various banks.

According to Indian media reports, the accused used to withdraw cash from ATMs and then tamper with bank servers. He would then call the bank’s helpline number and claim that he lost money in the transaction. Later, the amount would be credited back to his accounts.

A Mumbai police official said “Ansari visited Mumbai in June and November 2022 as well. On every visit, he would aim to break open 10-12 machines and leave within three days at most. Our team moved to several locations where he was seen in the footage. Later, we checked lodges near Mumbai Central station and learned he was staying at a certain Plaza guest house. Some got his number from there and began tracing his movements.”

“After we arrested him, he told us that after removing the cash from the machines, he would first fail the server and then call their helpline and say that he lost money in the transaction and later that very amount would be credited/ reversed in his account. He learned this technique from some other friends in the village, where he said that other boys also regularly practice this in other cities,” the official added.