Ludhiana couple caught for credit card fraud of over Rs 16 lakh

The duo has been booked on charges of forgery and under the provisions of Information Technology (IT) Act and is presently in police custody.

The DCB said the couple has confessed having done this at least 41 times in different places across the country. The total worth of valuables they had bought by using bogus credit cards is estimated to be a whopping Rs 1.14 crore.

This time,it was a fake Citibank credit card issued in the name of one Labhshankar Joshi of Mumbai. The con couple was found in possession of Joshi’s bogus PAN card and driving licence as well.

“We have also seized gold biscuits worth Rs 16,19,500 that the two had shopped with the bogus credit card,” said DCB Inspector K K Patel.

The officer said: “They used to somehow get details of people who had credit cards. Jasmeet then used these personal details (like date of birth) to get the victim’s residential address and contact details changed in the bank records,by posing as the owner of the credit card. Subsequently,Jasmeet would approach the bank and get a new credit card issued in the actual owner’s name,but embossed with his photograph.”

The DCB said the couple used to fly to a city,shop valuables with the bogus card and then fly back to their native place,Ludhiana.

“Using a similar modus operandi,they had shopped valuables worth Rs 15 lakh in Mumbai earlier this year. They have also confessed to have purchased valuables worth over Rs 86 lakh in Delhi and other cities in north India. The combined worth of valuables that they have shopped is Rs 1.14 crore,but more threads may surface as the investigation progresses,” said Abhay Chudasama,Deputy Commissioner of Police,DCB.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the couple had landed in Ahmedabad around 8 am on Saturday. After freshening up in SP International Airport’s waiting lounge,the two took a taxi to a prominent jewellery showroom in the Satellite area. They shopped there between 10 am and 10.30 am and returned to the airport. The two had booked tickets for an evening flight to Delhi.

In the meantime,officials of HDFC bank (which owned the credit card swipe machine in the showroom) intimated Citibank officials. Smelling a rat,they intimated the DCB.

“The two were nabbed from a waiting lounge in the airport,” a DCB officer said.