OPP investigators believe they've broken up a fraud operation that involved the use of "skimming" devices to collect the credit card and debit card information of Windsor and Essex County residents.
The case culminated with the arrests of seven suspects in the area on Tuesday afternoon.
"These devices are put at locations such as gas stations or businesses where a high amount of cards would be swiped," said Det. Scott Doherty of Essex OPP.
"If it's credit card information, they don't need a password or anything like that. If it's debit card information, they will often have in place a camera to record your PIN as you make your transaction, and they will match the information to the PIN at a later date."
At 4:30 p.m. and 5:20 p.m. Tuesday, OPP conducted two vehicle stops -- one on Highway 401 in Chatham-Kent and the other on Walker Road between County Road 46 and North Talbot Road.
Along with arresting seven Toronto-based people, officers say they found a wide array of fraud equipment in the vehicles, including blank plastic cards typically used for credit and debit card cloning.
Although the cards had magnetic strips, they had no embossed letters.
Officers also seized credit and debit cards with names that didn't belong to any of the people who were in the vehicles.
Other seized items included: cellphones, BlackBerrys, a laptop computer, financial documents, hotel room keys, lists of account numbers and PIN codes, and wires and cables "potentially used to install cameras in order to steal debit PIN codes."
Also found in the vehicles were more than $15,000 and small quantities of cocaine and marijuana.
Doherty said OPP aren't saying at this stage where they believe the group's "skimming" devices were located, but he warned that the devices can be put into place with stealth. "These devices are very easy to install. They can be bought on EBay.... It's not a hard process."
Doherty said consumers should try to only do electronic transactions at reputable businesses, and to keep an eye out for strange add-ons or out-of-place styling on point-of-sale terminals.
According to Doherty, skimming is among the most common financial crimes right now.
"I can't estimate how much money is lost each year by this. It's a very profitable form of crime for the bad guys. The most important thing you can do is protect your information."
Essex OPP spokeswoman Const. Janet Hayes recommended the simple measure of using your hand to shield the keypad whenever you punch in your PIN. "If there is a camera installed, they won't be able to get your PIN code and have access to your account readily," she said.
Hayes said any member of the public who has suspicions about something involving their credit or debit card should contact their financial institutions immediately.
OPP have now released the names of the accused: Mohammed Youssef Awada, 56; Kamal Ghandour, 44; Souad Faour, 54; Karim Ghandour, 22; Ali Hussein Dalloul, 35; Ali El-Ali, 24; and Mohamed Abu Kalil, 41.
All seven have been jointly charged with fraud exceeding $5,000, laundering the proceeds of crime, possession of instruments of forgery, possession of marijuana, possession of cocaine, and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
The accused remain in custody. They are scheduled for a court appearance on Friday.
By Dalson Chen
No comments:
Post a Comment