Close on the heels of the arrest of three persons allegedly involved in ATM frauds, the Cyber Crime police have arrested a youth on the charge of cheating gullible customers through online transactions.

The modus operandi of the accused P. Sai Bala Vamsi Krishna, 26, of Hyderabad was to watch bank customers as they feed the account number and PIN (Personal Identification Number) at ATM centres and note them down in his mobile phone. He had acquired knowledge in the operation of mobile phones and Internet to pursue his plans.

Online shopping

He used these details to make purchases on ‘ebay' with a false identity and relieving unsuspecting bank account holders to the tune of Rs.2.5 lakh, Police Commissioner J. Purnachandra Rao told a media conference here on Thursday.

The Commissioner called upon banks to make fool-proof security at ATM centres to ensure the safety of their customers. Expressing concern over the poor security systems at banks, he said each bank branch should have at least 19 CC cameras to detect suspicious persons and track their movements.

The culprits normally do a recce before committing the crime and security systems would be of great help in detecting such criminals. He advised customers to be careful while typing their account numbers and PIN on the keyboard at the ATM and ensure that no one was watching from behind. He felt it was not wise on the part of banks to have three or four ATMs in a single room as that would give room for criminals to enter as customers and watch others.

Mr. Purnachandra Rao said Rs.2.07 lakh, a mobile phone, and clothes (worth Rs.30,000) were recovered from the accused. He was arrested based on complaints of three victims from the city and one from Vizianagaram district and produced in court for judicial remand.

The case was detected by Cyber Crime Inspector B.V. Venkateswara Rao and his team.