Trickster heard victims murmuring pin code at ATMs; stole cash

Mumbai: A 32-year-old businessman in Mumbai, who had a habit of murmuring, was in for a rude shock after a trickster overheard his ATM pin code and stole money from his account on May 1 without using a card.

The fact came to light after the VP Road police arrested Satyendra Mishra for stealing money from Ashok Powade's account.

Explaining Mishra's modus operandi, Senior Inspector Vilas Patil said, "He knew that it was possible to withdraw money from the ATM within 30 seconds. He followed people and would withdraw from their accounts soon after they left the ATM."

Mishra, a resident of Daulat Bhuvan, Kalbadevi, is a watchman by profession. He used to visit ATM machines, which had loopholes.

Powade visited an ATM near VP road police station, when Mishra overheard his pin code.

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Mishra was in a hurry to enter the ATM enclosure as he had only 30 seconds to pull his con. However, Powade was taking his time to leave. Powade found something fishy in his body language and called the police.

"During interrogation Mishra confessed his modus operandi. He also said that he had picked up the trick from his brother Bhupendra, who was also arrested by the VP Road police."

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VP Road police took Mishra to the ATM machine to see how he worked his trick. "He had withdrawn Rs 27,000 from the account. But we are trying to find out how many times he had used this trick in the past," said Patil.