In the 2002 hit Hollywood film "Catch Me If You Can", Leonardo DiCaprio plays the role of a conman in the late 1960s who makes millions of dollars by forging cheques.

Cut to now and a 10-member gang in Uttar Pradesh used the same modus operandi to swindle people of crores of rupees, only its techniques being a bit more sophisticated than those used in the film by Frank Abagnale Jr, the character played by DiCaprio.

The gang's members were arrested on Saturday by the Bulandshahr district police for scamming people across the country of crores of rupees by "cloning cheques", Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shlok Kumar told PTI.

Explaining their modus operandi, he said they used to steal chequebooks ordered by customers before it reached them from banks. When a customer lodged a complaint, the bank cancelled the previous chequebook and issued a new one, Kumar said.

The gang's members used to get the details of the new chequebook from their accomplices before it was delivered to a customer, the SSP said.

After removing the details from the cheques of the cancelled chequebook using a chemical, the gang's members printed the details of the one delivered and received by the customer. They then put a forged signature of the customer on the cheques and withdrew money, the official said.

In the movie, Abagnale, to make a counterfeit, used glue to stick symbols and stencils to get the lettering correct on a paper that had the dimensions similar to that of a genuine cheque.

SSP Kumar said an investigation was launched after a local lodged a complaint that Rs 15 lakh had been withdrawn from his account through a cheque not issued by him.

"The complainant said he did not receive any message from the bank. The man got to know that Rs 15 lakh had been withdrawn when he updated his passbook," the official said.

It was a well organised gang and its members worked in teams, each having a name like in a company or an office, the SSP said.