Debit Card Crime Spree
According to a recent article in The Tech Herald, there’s a high-tech crime spree going on in Central and Southern California. Two of the perpetrators were arrested and tossed in jail but were released on bail; Back on the street to continue their escapade.
The article reports that “over $100,000 worth of Credit/Debit fraud in the last thee months” and then goes on to tell us that the alleged perpetrators, Thai Nam Lieu and Haiau Han, were found with 350,000 $20 bills. When I went to school, that many $20’s adds up to $7 million. Is there a problem with someone’s math? Personally, I have to question the number of 350,000 $20 bills. Never mind the value - that’s a huge volume of bills. Over 30 miles of bills laid end to end.
What’s my point? Either the Tech Herald is not being careful about the information they report or they’re pushing toward sensationalism. My thinking is that it’s probably the former. After all, if they wanted sensational, they’d have said $7 Million in losses instead of “over $100,000.”
How’d they do it?
It looks like this “crime wave” is (yes, it’s still going on) being pulled off using some high-tech, but rather simple, gadgets. Although police and the Secret Service are still investigating, the basics of the crime involve adding a skimmer to get the magnetic strip information and a small wireless camera to grab the PIN. With those two pieces and some blank cards you can pretty much get unlimited access to any bank account. Remember, we’re talking debit cards here - cash from an ATM. All these devices are available, no questions asked, from eBay or any ‘carder’ web site.
It’s happening in California and it can happen in your neighborhood.
