B’luru: Man arrested for stealing mobile phones, siphoning money from payment apps

Bengaluru: Police have arrested a youth on charges of stealing mobile phones and then siphoning off money from the Google Pay and Phone Pe accounts.

The arrested has been identified as Vignesh, a resident of Avalahalli. A native of Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, Vignesh had failed his PUC exam and was working as a courier person in the city.

Police seized around 38 mobile phones, valued at Rs 8 lakh from his possession. Police said that Vignesh was addicted to online betting and card games and had borrowed money for gambling.

Around a year ago, he stole a mobile phone and used the SIM card to activate the payment apps on another mobile, changed the PIN code, and then transferred the money. As no complaint was registered in this regard, Vignesh began targeting other people using the same modus operandi.

City Police Commissioner B. Dayanand informed that he had been stealing the mobile phones of women and other passengers at BMTC and private bus stations since then.

After pickpocketing 3-4 mobile phones he would leave for Chittoor. Later, with the help of his friends, he removed the SIM card from that mobile phone, put it in another mobile phone, and changed the Phone pe and Google Pay pincodes.

Following this he transferred the money from the accounts linked to the mobile number to any of his acquaintances and received money from them in the form of cash, the police informed.