more-in Mumbai: A thief, they say, is always two steps ahead. The government may have thought it was putting an end to scams and corruption through demonetisation, but scamsters were already hatching other plans: where there is no cash, move online, and across borders. That way, you get the bigger fish. According to Mumbai Crime Branch sources, investigations into the two card-cloning rackets busted this year revealed the change in the working of scamsters. Between June and August this year, the Property Cell of the Crime Branch arrested seven accused who were allegedly cloning cards of foreign nationals and siphoning crores of rupees from their accounts. Earlier this month, a similar racket was busted, where cards of Indian nationals were being cloned and money was similarly being stolen from their accounts though unauthorised withdrawals or transactions. Crime Branch officers said in both cases, the accused were based in various parts of the country. “Around two years ago, it was observed that card-cloning rackets operated at a local level. The masterminds of the rackets preferred to enlist the aid of people based in the same city as them, and the money made through the rackets would be withdrawn from automated teller machines within one or two days so the spoils could be divided in cash. The scenario, however, changed after November 2016, when the demonetisation scheme was announced,” a Crime Branch officer said. According to officers, the sudden scarcity of cash that developed soon after November 2016 posed a problem for racketeers. The same initiative, however, also gave rise to numerous ewallets and netbanking transactions became commonplace. As a result, officers said, scamsters adapted and factored in the new methods of payment in their rackets. “Once the scamsters realised that cash was no longer an option, and that money transfer through ewallets or netbanking were secure and dependable, they started using these options. Multiple accounts were opened on ewallets using multiple SIM cards and the scamsters were back in business. Over the next few months, however, they realised they no longer needed to depend on local accomplices with the option of e-payments available,” another officer said. In the card-cloning racket targeting foreign nationals, the alleged mastermind, Zuber Sayyed, was found to have a network of accomplices in 20 cities in India. All of these accomplices were small or medium businessmen based in popular tourist destinations who allegedly let Mr. Sayyed use their point of sale machines for fraudulent transactions on the victims’ credit cards in exchange for a share of the proceeds. In the second racket, which was busted this month, the six accused arrested so far hail from a variety of locations, including Chiplun, Rajasthan and Coimbatore, with Kolawole Hakim, the alleged mastermind, operating from his Reay Road residence. “The widespread network also offers a layer of safety from the authorities, as tracing the trail of money from one fraudulent transaction that spans several cities, is quite a task,” the officer said. The Crime Branch is investigating the scope of both the cases, which is likely to spread further in the next few weeks, sources said.

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