THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two unidentified men have allegedly stolen Rs 2.52 lakh from an SBI ATM in Fort, Thiruvananthapuram, by exploiting a technical loophole in the machine’s cash delivery system. The Fort police have registered a case under IPC Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) and are investigating the matter.
The scam, which took place between June 2022 and July 2023, involved the suspects using multiple stolen or lost ATM cards to withdraw money from the ATM located on Padmavilasam Road. The robbers employed a clever technique: after withdrawing cash, they would leave a single note in the machine’s cash delivery slot. This action caused the ATM to register the transaction as incomplete, triggering a ‘Timeout Error’ message. As a result, the machine failed to deduct the amount from the account holder’s balance, making it appear as if the transaction had not been processed.
Despite the cash being withdrawn, no fraud reports were filed because the money was not deducted from the customers’ accounts. However, discrepancies began to emerge between the total cash deposited into the ATM and the amounts recorded as withdrawn from customer accounts.
How the Scam Was Uncovered:
The fraud was uncovered when bank officials noticed the mismatched figures. Initially, an internal investigation was launched, but the irregularities could not be explained, leading to suspicions about possible involvement from bank staff. However, the breakthrough came when investigators reviewed CCTV footage from the ATM and identified the suspects, who had been using various stolen cards. The footage revealed the men repeatedly visiting the machine, carrying out the same trick.
With the suspects now identified, SBI officials filed a report with the Fort police and provided photos from the CCTV footage to aid in the investigation. The police are now working to track down the perpetrators.
