Highway police to keep tab on ATM counters in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the wake of the recent ATM fraud, the state police will maintain  vigil at ATM counters during odd hours. State police chief Loknath Behera has directed the highway patrols to keep a watch on ATM counters between 9 pm and 6 am. There are over 9,000 ATM counters across the state. As part of the routine patrolling, the highway patrol teams should even physically verify all ATM counters without security personnel in their respective limits to check the presence of any suspicious substances or activities.

In case of ATM counters with security guards, the police should check whether the guards are vigilant. In case of any lapses, the matter should be brought to the notice of the bank authorities concerned. The DGP directed ADGPs, IGs and district police chiefs to report actions taken within a week. Meanwhile, the wi-fi router-based device recovered from the Althara branch ATM counter of the SBI was handed over to the cyber forensic wing of the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing for detailed analysis.

The police hope  to retrieve information of the quantum of data stolen by the gang and to determine whether it  managed to access the bank's server using the device. As part of the probe,  Romanian Gabriel Marian Ilie was taken to Mumbai on Monday. Unearthing the sources of the fake cards would be the main target of the police. The state police also sought the assistance of Mumbai police in this connection.