voyager1970 » 21 авг 2007, 21:00
Cops clobber clone rangers
source: TheSun.co.uk August 21, 2007
COPS have smashed part of an international credit card gang after a raid in Hampshire.
They discovered what insiders described as a “credit card factory”, with the personal details of hundreds of people who didn’t know their cards had been cloned.
The information was on a computer laptop seized by officers from the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit.
Fraudsters had targeted retailers — including Shell garages — to get the card details.
They sent them to Thailand, India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka where they were used to fleece tens of thousands of pounds from accounts.
One customer whose details were on the computer was Patrick Dundas, 44, an IT manager from Newbury, Berks.
Patrick only realised that more than £300 had been taken out of his account when his card was rejected at a restaurant.
When he contacted Barclays Bank, he was told his card had been “compromised” and was asked if he had been to Thailand recently.
Patrick, who last visited the Asian country 20 years ago, said he had been at home and could prove his whereabouts.
Three withdrawals had been made from his account — two for £147 each and a third for £8.
FRAUDSTERS:
Fraudsters take relatively small amounts over a period of time in an attempt to stop victims noticing the purchases.
After discovering the thefts when his card was refused, Patrick was furious with his bank when officials said he might not be able to get back the cash as several months had passed between the card being used in Thailand and the discovery.
Barclays have since apologised and refunded his account.
Patrick said: “I never realised how easy it was for someone to get my card details. I am glad the money is back in the account. It is very worrying to discover that I was one of a number of victims.”
DCI John Folan, head of the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit, said: “We’ve recovered a laptop containing plastic card details, but as our investigation is still ongoing we’re not currently in a position to provide any more detail.
All the card details recovered have been shared with the banks concerned, so they can take appropriate action to contact their cardholders and prevent further fraud.”
And Jemma Smith from Apacs the uk Payments Association added: “We have been assured by our police unit that all the card details stolen were obtained through old-style fraud — this involves the criminals copying magnetic stripe data from the back of a card.
IMPOSSIBLE:
"Thanks to chip and PIN it’s practically impossible for a thief to use these details in the UK, but they can attempt to use them overseas in places that have yet to upgrade to chip and PIN.
"Whilst banks continue to monitor customer accounts for unusual transactions overseas and prevent any fraud, we continue to advise customers to check their statements.
"If an innocent customer does fall victim to this or any other type of fraud they can expect to get their money back.”
Neil Munroe from the credit reference agency Equifax: “This is not about some smart fraudster managing to break into customers’ accounts.
"Organised crime at an international level is behind credit card fraud and quite a lot of the money ends up in the coffers of terrorist organisations like the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka.
“A large number of the withdrawals are relatively small in the hope that they don’t arouse suspicion and these people will come back again and again.
"Once a particular card has been discovered, they will steal the details of someone else’s card.
“Consumers need to be more aware where they use their cards and ensure their pin numbers are protected, as well as checking their bank statements and making sure there are no purchases that they do not recognise.”
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Carpe Diem
"He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future."
-- George Orwell