ATM frauds are very common these days and many such incidents came across in recent times. But the technique used by this 27-year-old is unique and interesting. He was arrested for cheating ATM users by fixing matchstick in the machine keypad.

The incident took place at Pul Prahladpur, New Delhi on Wednesday. The accuse identified as Amir Khan was arrested after a complaint was lodged against him at Sunlight Colony Police Station. Rajesh Deo, DCP (Crime Branch), confirmed the arrest and said a team led by Inspector Pankaj Arora was tasked with nabbing Amir Khan.

“With the help of technical and human surveillance, the team arrested him from southeast Delhi. He learned the new technique to dupe people using old Central Bank of India ATMs, a few months ago,” Rajesh Deo said.

Amir Khan, who had dropped out of school after Class IV, is believed to be part of a gang that operates in the capital and has a unique modus operandi, police said, adding that the accused has disclosed the names of some of his acquaintances.

While investigating the accused, he told that he fell into bad company when he was a teenager and started indulging in petty crimes. Amir Khan also said that he would sharpen one end of a matchstick and fix it in the space between the keypad and the frame.

“Once a matchstick was fixed, the keypad would become dysfunctional. Following that, the accused used to wait for people outside the ATM,” a police officer privy to the details of the case said. As soon as a person would enter the ATM, Amir would come and stand outside, pretending to be in a hurry.

“The older ATMs generally ask for the PIN number in the initial step. The moment a user inserts his or her card in the machine, a window pops up on the screen asking if the user wants to continue in Hindi or English. To answer that, operating the keypad is not required,” said the officer.

Once the language option is done with, the ATM asks for the user’s PIN, the officer said, adding,

“When the user would try to press the keys to enter his or her PIN number, it would not work. Meanwhile, Amir would start knocking and soon enter the cabin in a bid to help the user. On seeing the transaction stuck, the user would, in frustration, key in the PIN repeatedly in front of Khan, who would memorize it. The user would then, in a while, leave the kiosk believing that the machine is dysfunctional, and Amir would leave with him,” police added.

But soon Amir would come back, remove the matchstick and enter the PIN by memorizing it. For everyone’s surprise, Amir never entered a large sum because he did not want to attract attention.

So, guys, be careful while operating an ATM machine. Such frauds can easily steal your money.

Also Read: This MBA Guy Found A Unique Trick That Allowed Him To Withdraw Rs. 21 Lakhs From ATMs