UAE-based Indian's debit card hacked in US

A debit card belonging to an expatriate Indian in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was hacked into and used for unauthorised transactions in the US, media reported Wednesday.

Mohammed Anas, 34, was shocked to learn that the money was withdrawn from his debit card account thrice by an unknown hacker from Florida, who used precisely all of his account details efficiently, the Gulf News reported.

"A total of 2,700 dirhams was withdrawn in dollars from my account June 3 around 7 p.m. The amount was withdrawn from an ATM machine in Florida," the news report quoted Anas as saying.

"I have never used my card for any online transactions," said Anas, who works as a documentation controller in Abu Dhabi.

Anas, married with a child, said all three transactions -- $502 and $102 twice -- were conducted within a span of just three minutes.

Anas notified the bank and blocked the debit card instantly.

"Luckily, I had withdrawn most of my cash a few days ago to pay my bills. Otherwise the crooks would have wiped my account clean," Anas said.

The bank acted promptly after he submitted a dispute form and the money was credited back into his account within a week, the report stated.