Think before dropping cheques in ATM deposit box

VADODARA: If you have a habit of dropping cheques in the deposit box of ATMs, then beware. Your cheques may get stolen and end up being deposited in some fake bank accounts for encashment.

A state-wide gang that has mastered the art of stealing and encashing cheques from ATM drop boxes has been striking at will in different cities. Right from Ahmedabad to Vadodara and Surat, this gang has stolen cheques and siphoned off money worth lakhs of rupees within a matter of few days. Some members of this gang have also committed similar offence in Mumbai.

Senior police officials said that the banks having lax cross verification rules for opening accounts too are responsible for it. The crime branch recently registered four FIRs against the accused and initiated investigations.

"This gang works professionally and has perfected the art of cheating the banks. The accused first steal cheques that are dropped in the drop box in the ATMs. Usually the ATMs with less or no security guards are targeted. The cheques are collected and then some experts from the gang tamper with them," said DCP (crime) Ashok Yadav.

"Either the name of the person on whom the cheque has been drawn or the amount is altered. A member of the gang then opens fake account in the bank with similar name that has been written on the cheque. The cheque is deposited in the account and encashed immediately," Yadav told TOI.

The matter came to light when a State Bank of India (SBI) official recently registered complaint with the cops regarding fake accounts opened in his bank. Investigations revealed that about 10 bogus accounts were opened in SBI. Lakhs of rupees were reportedly deposited in these accounts and then withdrawn. "These gangs target SBI as it goes easy on cross verification of customers' identity documents. The accused easily open account and then deposit stolen cheques to encash money and disappear," Yadav added.

The Ahmedabad police recently caught one of the gang members, Alpesh Waghela who was involved in one of the cases registered in the city. The city police is now trying to get his custody. "We are now collecting evidences against the gang and trying to trace down the accused. Also, focus is on finding lacunae in the bank rules that allows such criminals to open fake accounts easily," Yadav added.