Frenchmen used latest technology in ATM-card fraud
Among techniques used by criminals operating cash-card frauds, a new method used recently in Chon Buri is dangerously effective, police warn.
Two French suspects - Tachefini Smaine, 20, and Alexandre Guasmia, 21 - allegedly used a small device known as a skimmer to copy information from cards and create cloned cards immediately. Tourist Police commander Maj-General Panya Mamen said the men targeted rich-looking and seemingly English-speaking people and obtained their cards' PIN by watching their victims key them into ATM machines. Sometimes they identified the four-digit codes from a distance through zoomed-in images recorded from a video camera operated by one of the suspects. The other man then used his con skills to obtain cards from holders at the ATM machines by approaching them and inventing a story. For example, that he had problems with his own card and wanted to see another card to compare whether the problems stemmed from the same sources of information stored in embedded chips or magnetic strips. When handed cards by clueless holders, one man used the skimmer - the size of a cigarette in length and a car key in thickness - to copy information from the chips or strips and returned the cards. After obtaining the PIN and holders' information from the cards, they were able to produce clones almost immediately. Panya said the two Frenchmen had exploited Thai generosity towards foreigners in trouble. They allegedly used cloned cards in Thailand and sold others to people in Europe. It was the first time anyone had been detected using a skimmer in Thailand, and the type of skimmer they used was one of the smallest models in the world, said Panya. The commander said tourist police began investigating the case after cardholders complained to the Thai Bankers' Association that their cards had been charged for use in Europe, even though they had never been there before. Police said the men were arrested in front of a Chon Buri bank last week while approaching an ATM user. Panya said the rich were primarily selected because they tended not to check their accounts regularly, making long-term withdrawals of small amounts of money difficult to detect. Preecha Sa-ardsorn The Nation
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