Five held for using forged credit cards, duping Rs 4 lakh

Kasargod, Nov 19: Five members of a gang that used forged credit cards to purchase expensive consumer durables have been arrested by Kasargod district police.

K.V. Basheer, 31, his relative Abdul Rahman, 30, from Kannur, and Muhammed Najeeb, 24, Muhammed Riaz, 22, and Mehroof Basit Ali, 20, from Kasaragod, were arrested on Friday on a tip-off received by Superintendent of Police Thomson Jose.

The police are on the lookout for the Mumbai-based mastermind Saif and Nishad, a resident of Uppala, Mr. Jose said. They were charged under IPC Sections 468 and 471 (forgery).

The accused, arrested from a parking lot of a jewellery outlet here, were remanded in judicial custody for two weeks, Kasaragod Town Circle Inspector Abdul Rahim said.

The gangsters offer to pay matching price to those transferring confidential data of credit cards of rich persons to online accounts known only to the suspects. The gangsters load classified information on blank cards and try to swipe the cards to see if the money required is available, Mr. Jose said.

“In fact, the gangsters on mutual trust, pass on the assured compensation to the masterminds who arrange to provide confidential inputs to draw the money through card swiping,” Mr. Jose said, adding that classified data would be uploaded through websites from remote servers.

He said the gangsters after purchasing expensive goods using the fake credit cards would sell them for pocket money.

The police seized 67 credit cards, seven 7 cellphones, a swap machine, a laptop besides a car and a motorbike from them.

Mr. Jose said the accused confessed to making purchases worth Rs. 4 lakh from various outlets, including petrol pumps.