Hyderabad, Sep 6 (IANS): Hyderabad police on Monday busted a gang of debit card fraudsters who cheated banks by fiddling with ATMs.

Personnel of the Commissioner's Task Force, South Zone Team, along with Nallakunta police, arrested three members of the inter-state gang and seized 23 debit cards of various banks and Rs 2.11 lakh cash.

The accused, hailing from Delhi and Haryana, allegedly cheated banks by fiddling with ATMs after withdrawing cash to show technical error and then claimed the money from the banks.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar told reporters that the arrests were made during the investigation into four cases registered at Nallakunta and Saidabad police stations of Hyderabad. A case was also registered at Vanasthalipuram police station of Rachakonda police commissionerate.

The accused have been identified as Mohd Iqbal, 27, a resident of Delhi, Ansari, 31 and Mohd Salaim, 31, both residents of Mewat in Haryana.

Iqbal studied Intermediate and was running online business centre at Delhi and having basic technical knowledge. Ansari, an illiterate, was working as a truck driver while Salaim had done a computer Diploma and was working in online centre at Delhi. To meet expenses for their lavish lifestyle and to make easy and quick money, they hatched a plan to commit offences by using debit cards, thereby duping the banks on technical errors.

Explaining the modus operandi of the accused, the Police Commissioner said two of them used to enter an ATM kiosk, and one of the accused drew cash by using the debit card while the second person manipulated the ATM to create a technical error. They spent some time near the ATM and act as if cash is not dispensed. Later, the accused lodge a complaint (through toll free number) that they could not withdraw the cash from the ATM and their transaction had failed. On verification, the bank of the ATM concerned finds the transaction of complainant failed because of technical error during dispensation of cash.

As per the Banking Ombudsman guidelines, the bank operating the ATM has to pay the amount to the customer for a failed transaction. Taking this technicality as an advantage, the accused committed several such offences by using several debit cards and claimed the money from the banks, the police chief said.

The gang was committing the fraud at unmanned ATMs in big cities and towns. The police seized a pen camera, two objects utilised for manipulating the ATM machine and three mobile phones from them.