Interstate credit card cloning racket busted

[email protected] (CD Network, Photos by Ahmed Anwar )

February 25, 2012

Mangalore, February 25: Sleuths of city crime branch (CCB) of Mangalore City Police on Saturday busted a two-member inter-state gang of cheats who had perfected the art of cloning credit cards.

The arrested are Zishan Mohammad (24), son of Ihsanullah from Richards Town, Bangalore, and Gujarat based Kelwin Patel (26), who was residing at Kudroli, Mangalore.

Mangalore City Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh told media persons at his office that the duo have had transactions with American Express bank, Standard Chartered bank, Citibank through six credit cards and they were also using methods of making fake credit cards and confiscating account numbers of different people.

They used to transfer funds into the credit cards using special software and possessed writers and readers to operate their business, he said.

The police have also recovered from them a laptop which had the software to transfer account numbers into the fake credit cards. A magnetic swipe card, IC card, readers and writers were also recovered. The accused also possessed receipts of purchases of up to Rs 3.5 lakhs from a shop and also usage of the cards at Leela Palace Hotel in Bangalore. They used mobile phones and internet modems to operate their business, informed the commissioner.

Mr Singh said that the accused used to steal account numbers from national and international account holders and with the help of their equipment transferred funds into the credit cards. Their mobiles contained several details of account numbers and SMS sent to pass on information about account numbers, he said adding that the case might involve several other persons and an investigation is on.

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Udupi NRI duped of Rs 12.25 lakh in Telegram investment scam

News Network

December 4,2025

Udupi: A 40-year-old NRI from Udupi has reportedly lost more than Rs 12.25 lakh in an online investment scam operated through Telegram.

According to a complaint filed at the CEN police station, Leo Jerome Mendonsa, who has been working in Dubai for the past 15 years in computer accessories sales, maintains NRI accounts in Karkala and Nitte.

On November 12, 2025, Mendonsa was added to a Telegram group called Instaflow Earnings by unknown individuals. Users identified as Priya and Dipannita persuaded him to invest in “Revenue Tasks.” Initially, Mendonsa transferred Rs 1,100 multiple times and received the promised returns, encouraging him to continue.

On November 14, another user, Nishmitha Shetty, directed him to register on a website, digitvisionuoce.cc, and invest Rs 4 lakh in various shares. Over the next few days, he made multiple transfers totaling Rs 12,25,000, including Rs 50,000 via Google Pay, believing the scheme was legitimate.

After receiving the money, the alleged handlers stopped responding, and neither the invested amount nor the promised profits were returned.

The CEN police have registered a case under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act and Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and investigations are ongoing.

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Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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