A research scholar of Hyderabad Central University was caught by the police on Thursday after he purchased high-end gadgets and branded clothes using clandestinely collected details of others' debit cards.
Two laptops, seven mobile phones and some electronic gadgets, all worth Rs. 3.15 lakh, were recovered from the arrested Prabhakar Yadav. The urge to possess latest mobile phones and wear expensive clothes drove Prabhakar, a Junior Research Fellowship holder receiving Rs. 21,000 monthly scholarship from the government, to resort to the fraud, the police said.
The accused, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, joined the university in Gachibowli in July, 2011, the Cyberabad Cyber Crime Inspector, M. Srinivasa Rao, said. He undertook research in plant sciences and was living in a rented room in Maseedbanda of Serilingampally.
Debit card details
He told the police that he read reports about some persons secretly noting down PINs (Personal Identification Numbers) of debit card users by standing behind them while withdrawing money in ATM centres. “He decided to steal information in similar fashion and use it to purchase articles online,” the Inspector said. The scholar already had a laptop and purchased an Airtel data card for Internet usage. He used to frequent the ATM centre in HCU campus, step inside even as others withdrew money from the machine, stand behind them casually and note down their card details.
Using those card numbers, he placed orders online through different websites like for mobile phones, laptop and clothes.
He used to give a false address for receiving the articles. Before the articles were sent to the address through courier agency, he would personally go to the latter's office and collect the parcels. He misused debit card details of four persons from January to March.
On receipt of complaints, the Cyber Crime sleuths tracked the online transactions and caught Prabhakar.
