Romanians in ATM fraud net

PTI Aug 12, 2018, Chandigarh: Three Romanians have been arrested in connection with alleged ATM fraud, police said on Saturday.

Two of the accused - identified as Miclea Lecian Lonut and Paraschiv George Aletandru, both 37 years old - were arrested from New Delhi.

During interrogation, the accused disclosed that they arrived in Chandigarh on August 2 with the intention of putting skimmers - a device used by fraudsters to steal credit/debit card information - and spy cameras in ATMs.

After collecting data of ATM card-holders, they used to make a clone of the cards and use them for online shopping or withdrawing cash.

To hoodwink the police, the duo used to disguise themselves by wearing caps, spectacles and wigs.

With increasing complaints of illegal withdrawal of money, the crime branch of Chandigarh police suspected the involvement of some foreigners. #Another Romanian was arrested on Saturday for allegedly trying to steal data from an ATM machine in Noida's Sector 18, the police said.

Onciu Anexandru, 27, a resident of Valcea Romana, had been fiddling with the ATM of a private bank in Savitri Market, they said.

"The accused had got his ATM card stuck in the machine and was fiddling with it. The security guard at the ATM grew suspicious and alerted the police," a police statement said.