Police in Visakhapatnam have arrested a man linked to over 60 ATM card swap scams, revealing a widening pattern of bank cash thefts targeting vulnerable civilians across Andhra Pradesh with similar operations seen in other Indian states.
Visakhapatnam police have arrested a 30-year-old man accused of stealing bank cash by posing as a helpful stranger at ATM kiosks, in a case that investigators say may be part of a much wider pattern of card-swapping fraud across Andhra Pradesh. Police identified the suspect as Palla Surendra Kumar, from I Polavaram village in Dr B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district, and said preliminary checks suggested he had been linked to more than 60 earlier cases. Officers also said he had previously been jailed before allegedly returning to the same method of theft in Visakhapatnam, Tuni and other parts of the state.
According to police, Surendra Kumar mainly targeted older people and women who appeared uncertain while using ATMs. He would allegedly step in under the pretence of helping them withdraw cash, exchange their debit cards for expired ones and then use the original cards, together with PINs handed over by the victims, to drain their accounts. Investigators said they recovered Rs 1.93 lakh in cash and a motorcycle from him, while the wider probe continues to establish how many people were affected and the total amount stolen.
The alleged scam fits a pattern seen repeatedly at ATMs in India, where suspects have posed as Good Samaritans before swapping cards and disappearing with the victims’ cash. The Times of India has reported similar arrests in Ghaziabad, Vasai and Pune in recent years, while the New Indian Express reported a comparable case in Valparai last year. Police in Visakhapatnam said they are still working to trace all of the alleged transactions linked to Kumar.
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