Malvani police arrested a fraudster who would lie in wait at ATMs, posing as a helpful passer-by when he saw customers struggling. He would offer to assist them, but would end up helping himself to their money after swapping their ATM cards out with fakes. The accused, Mohammad Irfan Abbas Ansari, 31, was arrested from Jaunpur district in Uttar Pradesh.

According to investigators, Ansari has over 10 criminal cases registered against him across Mumbai, the Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar region, and other nearby cities. They said he was earlier employed in a film production house. However, after he stopped getting regular work, he reportedly came in contact with a gang involved in ATM fraud and learnt their tricks.  He then allegedly began committing the crimes on his own. An officer told mid-day, “The accused carried out multiple offences in the Malvani area. On December 9, at an HDFC Bank ATM, he swapped a woman’s ATM card and withdrew Rs 51,000 from her account. In another case from the same month, he allegedly cheated another complainant of Rs 90,000.”