Phuket Police Seize Over 5,000 Fake Credit Cards

[george]

Phuket police seize over 5,000 fake credit cards

PHUKET: -- Police have arrested three Sri Lankan men for credit-card fraud, seizing more than 5,000 bogus credit cards allegedly encoded with information from real credit cards.

Police suspect the three men may be part of a much larger ring operating in popular tourist areas throughout Thailand and other parts of the world.

Lt-Colonel Boonlert Onklang of Kathu Police Station identified the three suspects as Pathmathas Ganeshamoorthy, 26, Srikanthan Veerasingam, 29, and Sivagnanam Gnanakanthan, 35. The passports of all three men revealed that they had been frequent visitors to Thailand.

Boonlert said police had arrested Ganeshamoorthy and Veerasingam at the northern end of Thaweewong Road in Patong early on Tuesday evening after a closed-circuit TV camera caught the pair using a fake credit card to draw money from an ATM in front of the Kon Thai Pub in Karon.

At the time of the arrest, one of the men was sitting in a silver-coloured Honda car, the other was on the beach.

A search of the vehicle uncovered a notebook computer, 2,703 fake white credit cards and three flash drives. After the arresting officers turned down a Bt2-million bribe in exchange for their release, the men were questioned, Boonlert said.

The two men told police the cards and equipment belonged to Gnanakanthan, who had arrived in Phuket earlier that day, Boonlert said.

The men had picked up Gnanakanthan at the airport and dropped him off at his hotel, the Pen Villas in Surin, he added.

A visit to Gnanakanthan's room just after midnight early on Wednesday uncovered an additional 2,533 fake credit cards. Of these, 483 were green and the remainder white. Unlike the cards seized earlier that day, all the cards were marked with a four-digit number.

Police also seized an MSR206 card magnetic-strip reader and encoder.

All three men were arrested and are now being held at Kathu Police Station. They were taken to Phuket Provincial Court on Thursday afternoon, and each was charged with one count of electronic-card forgery and one count of possessing a fraudulent electronic card with intent to use.

All three men denied the charges. Bank officers plan to inspect the cards and determine how many of them have been used. It is still too early to estimate the cost of the men's activities to Phuket businesses, Boonlert said.

Police believe the Sri Lankans may have been operating as part of a larger fraud ring, he added.

The cards seized in Phuket were similar to cards seized in earlier raids in Bangkok and Chon Buri. Those cards were encoded with data from genuine credit cards issued in the UK, Boonlert said.

-- Phuket Gazette 2007-01-06

[uk_falang]

Wow

Someone withdrew money from an ATM in Chiang Mai 7:00PM 3rd Jan from an ATM in Chiang Mai, using a fake copy of my British ATM card. I discovered this by looking at my Internet banking and noticed a 20,000 baht withdrawal from Chiang Mai Siam City Bank ATM machine - not sure which one.(I dont live in Chiang Mai)

I have now cancelled my card and have requested an investigation by my bank in the UK.

I have no idea how someone could copy my card, replace it and also know the PIN number. It is a normal ATM (debit) bank card, i never use it in shops or over the phone.

the only possibility i can think of is there are some dodgy atms in thailand that have been set up to copy cards and get the numbers

[uk_falang]

perhaps i sould contact phuket police and see if any of the card copies were of my card? i could use this information to my bank so i can get the money back from the insurance?

[ramidin]

Wow

Someone withdrew money from an ATM in Chiang Mai 7:00PM 3rd Jan from an ATM in Chiang Mai, using a fake copy of my British ATM card. I discovered this by looking at my Internet banking and noticed a 20,000 baht withdrawal from Chiang Mai Siam City Bank ATM machine - not sure which one.(I dont live in Chiang Mai)

I have now cancelled my card and have requested an investigation by my bank in the UK.

I have no idea how someone could copy my card, replace it and also know the PIN number. It is a normal ATM (debit) bank card, i never use it in shops or over the phone.

the only possibility i can think of is there are some dodgy atms in thailand that have been set up to copy cards and get the numbers

Tip to watch out for, ATM's and card swipe machines in Thailand often print the entire card number and expiry date on the receipt.

Ever noticed the bin full of receipts at the ATM machines? I got caught by this once, never again!

I also understand the PIN is imprinted on the card, so they just get your number and expiry from the ATM slip, make up a pin, encode onto a blank hey presto - or if you used it in a store, the whole lot is on the magnetic stripe!

CHIP cards are a little more secure, but not much

[jcgodber]

I guess the answer would be to never let your card out of your sight when using it to charge something.

Only use Atms that are at banks or protected locations so you will be assured that the machine is for real.

This is not unique to Thailand

[Chua]

Phuket police seize over 5,000 fake credit cards

PHUKET: -- Police have arrested three Sri Lankan men for credit-card fraud, seizing more than 5,000 bogus credit cards allegedly encoded with information from real credit cards.

...

A search of the vehicle uncovered a notebook computer, 2,703 fake white credit cards and three flash drives. After <b>the arresting officers turned down a Bt2-million bribe in exchange for their release</b>, the men were questioned, Boonlert said.

The real news here is that the arresting officers turned down a 2 million Baht bribe! Perhaps there is hope for Thailand after all. I hope those officers get a big time promotion and reward.

[Chua]

Wow

Someone withdrew money from an ATM in Chiang Mai 7:00PM 3rd Jan from an ATM in Chiang Mai, using a fake copy of my British ATM card. I discovered this by looking at my Internet banking and noticed a 20,000 baht withdrawal from Chiang Mai Siam City Bank ATM machine - not sure which one.(I dont live in Chiang Mai)

I have now cancelled my card and have requested an investigation by my bank in the UK.

I have no idea how someone could copy my card, replace it and also know the PIN number. It is a normal ATM (debit) bank card, i never use it in shops or over the phone.

the only possibility i can think of is there are some dodgy atms in thailand that have been set up to copy cards and get the numbers

Tip to watch out for, ATM's and card swipe machines in Thailand often print the entire card number and expiry date on the receipt.

Ever noticed the bin full of receipts at the ATM machines? I got caught by this once, never again!

I also understand the PIN is imprinted on the card, so they just get your number and expiry from the ATM slip, make up a pin, encode onto a blank hey presto - or if you used it in a store, the whole lot is on the magnetic stripe!

CHIP cards are a little more secure, but not much

PIN NUMBERS ARE *NOT* ENCODED ON ATM OR CREDIT CARDS. THAT WOULD BE AN EXTREMELY BAD IDEA. BANKS ARE A BIT SMARTER THAN THAT. THE CARD NUMBER IS ALL THAT IS ON THE MAG STRIPE. ATMS SEND THE CARD # ALONG WITH THE PIN ENTERED IN ENCRYPTED FORM TO YOUR BANK'S COMPUTER WHICH CHECKS THE # AND PIN AGAINST IT'S INTERNAL DATABASE.

THE RECEIPTS TYPICALLY ONLY SHOW PART OF THE ACCT # OR AN ENCRYPTED VERSION OF THE CARD #.

THE WAY CRIMINALS GET THE PIN #S IS BY GUESSING, USING OBVIOUS PINS LIKE 1234, 0000, 7777, ETC OR THE PERSON'S YEAR OF BIRTH (NOT TO HARD TO GUESS IF YOU'VE SEEN THEM IN PERSON OR HAVE A COPY OF THEIR PASSPORT), OR BY WATCHING THE USER ENTER IT AT AN ATM TERMINAL BEFORE/AFTER THEY MAKE A COPY OF THE CARD.

WITH A MAG STRIPE READER & WRITER IT IS JUST A MATTER OF SWIPING THE CARD TO MAKE A COPY.

MORAL: DON'T GIVE YOUR ATM CARD TO ANYONE, EVEN FOR A SECOND. DON'T USE IT AT "GENERIC" ATMS LOCATIONS (USE ONLY TRUSTED, KNOWN BANK ATMS). WHEN ENTERING YOUR CARD #, STEP CLOSE TO THE MACHINE AND COVER YOUR FINGERS WITH YOUR OTHER HAND SO THAT THERE'S NO CHANCE SOMEONE COULD BE WATCHING OR VIDEO-ING YOUR ENTRY. ALSO, DO NOT USE OBVIOUS OR EASILY GUESSED PIN #S - ESPECIALLY NOT YOUR YEAR OF BIRTH.

-CHUA

Edited January 6, 2007 by Chua

[roscoe]

A search of the vehicle uncovered a notebook computer, 2,703 fake white credit cards and three flash drives. After the arresting officers turned down a Bt2-million bribe in exchange for their release, the men were questioned, Boonlert said.

only 2million!! for being so tight they deserved to get nicked

[oevna]

The real news here is that the arresting officers turned down a 2 million Baht bribe! Perhaps there is hope for Thailand after all. I hope those officers get a big time promotion and reward.

Yea, I thought that too. While I believe in giving credit where it is due (to the officers, in this case for not taking the bribe), think about the consequences for being caught letting criminals like this go, and for taking such a huge bribe. The risk to the officers of getting caught was too high in this case. They were sent to arrest these guys, so their department was expecting them to make an arrest. The case would not just be forgotten if the cops took the bribe and let them go. That would be a real scandal and they would surely lose their jobs at the least, if not get hit with big fines and/or jail time. I'm not saying these are corrupt cops, I'm just saying even corrupt cops would be foolish to take such a bribe.

-oevna

Edited January 6, 2007 by oevna

[kayata]

I use to work for Barclaycard, and can verify that no PIN numbers are stored on the card, they use to be upto 1990.

All pins are stored within the PIN Database held at Visa International, or mastercard or with the smaller atm card issuers.

There is an Algorithm to work the standard pin issued by the bank, but this is so complicated, that you would need a brilliant programmer to do it, but how many people change their pin from the standard issued. I change mine every time I use my card.

What you have to be aware of is little gadget attached to the ATM, it records the Level1 & Level2 Magnetic strip data on the card, What you have to watch out for are these little pencil cameras, which could be located around the atm watching you.

Also be aware of someone watching you whilst you do your transactions, especially down busy tourist areas like walking street in pattaya, nana in bangkok, these are high risk areas.

Indonesia and Thailand has the world's highest ranking for Fraud.

[z21rhd]

Phuket police seize over 5,000 fake credit cards

PHUKET: -- Police have arrested three Sri Lankan men for credit-card fraud, seizing more than 5,000 bogus credit cards allegedly encoded with information from real credit cards.

...

A search of the vehicle uncovered a notebook computer, 2,703 fake white credit cards and three flash drives. After <b>the arresting officers turned down a Bt2-million bribe in exchange for their release</b>, the men were questioned, Boonlert said.

The real news here is that the arresting officers turned down a 2 million Baht bribe! Perhaps there is hope for Thailand after all. I hope those officers get a big time promotion and reward.

Congratulations, for doing a good job ! Surely not promotion or reward ? This is what they are paid to do.

[gharknes]

all i will say on this subject is the police need to determine where these phuckers are getting the card information from, I find it very har to believe that it is coming from watching people at atm's........there are just too many, i suspect they are getting info from IT people in thai banks and they are sellling it, the police really need to ivestigate this and publish the results, or maybe they don't want too............................i say again, there is no way these cards are being cloned from ATM's

anyone that has influence with the police needs to push this as far as they can

this is just another nail in the never ending corruption coffin of Thailand, the police really need to expose every aspect of this crime to the puiblic...............everybody. and lock people up, if you cannot trust a bank ... where are we

i for one will be very reluctant to put any money in a thai back until the prove to me it is safe

[Livinginexile]

"After the arresting officers turned down a Bt2-million bribe in exchange for their release, the men were questioned, Boonlert said."

Translation....

"After the arresting officers took the Bt2-million bribe in exchange for their release, the men were arrested anyway, Boonlert said."

[falux]

It has been no news for 100 years or so that Thais love easy bucks, and that makes them no different than people from countries like France, Italy or the states. The difference is that tens of thousands of foreigners have thai gf's / wifes, but only a handful of thai guys are with a western woman. If this was my country, then I'd probably not be eager to help out foreigners either; although I would also not try to get their money in ridiculous ways.

[drummer]

ORganized crime - i.e. pre-existing mafia rganizations have decided that ID fraud will be a very profitable venture, and have moved in full bore. More than one bank have announced that their computers have been hacked.

Of course, if someone sets up a dodgy ATM with a dodgy camera next to it, then they would be able to get at least a dozen fake credit cards/ day. Heck - even a high res camera set up would do it - you could take read the numbers and everything righ off the card itself .... even get the signature.

It has been no news for 100 years or so that Thais love easy bucks, and that makes them no different than people from countries like France, Italy or the states.

It wasn't Thais who did this - although I'm not saying Thais don't do it. But rumor has it that a lot of the information crime / fraud scams that go on in theiland are perpetrated by foreigners - lke Sri Lankans and Nigerians. Presumably at least in part because of their better English skills.

If this was my country, then I'd probably not be eager to help out foreigners either; although I would also not try to get their money in ridiculous ways.

I think that you should study the culture a bit more. Thai Rak Thai has a heck of a lot more to it than not liking the farang sex tourists ...

[svenivan]

Phuket police seize over 5,000 fake credit cards

The cards seized in Phuket were similar to cards seized in earlier raids in Bangkok and Chon Buri. Those cards were encoded with data from genuine credit cards issued in the UK, Boonlert said.

It looks to me that the cards and the information comes from UK! It is not cards issued in Thailand.

So no Thais involved what I read out of this article.

:D

[falux]

ORganized crime - i.e. pre-existing mafia rganizations have decided that ID fraud will be a very profitable venture, and have moved in full bore. More than one bank have announced that their computers have been hacked.

Of course, if someone sets up a dodgy ATM with a dodgy camera next to it, then they would be able to get at least a dozen fake credit cards/ day. Heck - even a high res camera set up would do it - you could take read the numbers and everything righ off the card itself .... even get the signature.

It has been no news for 100 years or so that Thais love easy bucks, and that makes them no different than people from countries like France, Italy or the states.

It wasn't Thais who did this - although I'm not saying Thais don't do it. But rumor has it that a lot of the information crime / fraud scams that go on in theiland are perpetrated by foreigners - lke Sri Lankans and Nigerians. Presumably at least in part because of their better English skills.

If this was my country, then I'd probably not be eager to help out foreigners either; although I would also not try to get their money in ridiculous ways.

I think that you should study the culture a bit more. Thai Rak Thai has a heck of a lot more to it than not liking the farang sex tourists ...

I guess you're calling me an ignorant sex tourist. I work a serious job here and have the same girlfriend for 4 1/2 years. I work[ed] with hundreds of Thais, and talking about culture, I'm almost certain that the post above is true, the officers took the money and made the arrest anyway.

[Ludacris]

On the same topic of credit card and ATM fraud, never ever use your ATM card as a debit card if it was issued by a Thai bank. Unlike interac terminals at retail locations in western countries where there is a keypad that you put your PIN into during the transaction, the PIN number is not required for debit transactions in Thailand and there is no way for you to verify the amount before it is put through. This means the cashier can just keep swiping your card as often as she wants and racking up charges. Very easy for her to do if you are distracted for some reason.

This happened to me once at a very large and reputable business in Bangkok and was a nightmare to correct. I hate to imagine if it happened at some small family store on the side of the road. I checked my bank statement a few days after the purchase and realized the charge had been put through twice. So I took my bank statement along with the receipt and thought it would be cut and dry and very simple to get a refund – but not in Thailand! First I had to deal with the aspect of Thai culture of not accepting responsibility and they wanted me to call the bank and tell them it’s their fault. The bank said it would take 2 weeks for an investigation. I put my foot down and explained I knew what was going on and it was obvious their cashier made a mistake, not the bank. I wasn't leaving until I got my money back. Well, over 2 hours later things finally got sorted out. I’ll never use the debit card again and now always get the money out of an ATM and pay with cash.

A friend of mine started having purchases made from his account and it took a long time to get sorted out too. For debit card transactions the actual card is not even needed – just the card number entered into the machine is enough. He figured someone got his number from a receipt he had thrown away after a debit transaction. Lots of retail locations in Thailand publish the entire card number on debit transaction receipts so be very careful throwing those away!

Edited January 7, 2007 by Ludacris

[hgvneil]

My u.k nationwide debit card was cloned IN u.k but the money was withdrawn in thailand.

Happened last month,they withdrew nearly 1000 british pounds in 20,000 baht withdraws,in Pattaya.

Im sure it was shopkeepers in the shop with either a fake pin machine which reads your card then the pin as you key it in,or they watched me key in the number(an easy one).

There has been loads of it going on in Maidenhead,berks,at nationwide they said about 2 people a day coming in with having their card cloned.They even put fake plastic atm fronts ontop of the real atm machine so when you put in your card it reads the information and have a hidden camera to see pin no.

These have been found in my town and i always am check before putting my card in.This is why i know it was cloned in a shop(off license) i think i know which one.Now i never use the card in shops,if you have to completely cover your hand,the shop i think it is even has a camera over the till on ceiling,maybe they used this ?

The cards are probably sold on to gangs who take them abroad...Thailand.

[vladaman]

There is a difference between writing down number of credit card and making a physical copy.

Credit Card has a magnetic stripe which has some additional data - not the PIN number. In order to use card in ATM you need physical copy of it and PIN number.

When transaction is made with merchant, it is either "CARD PRESENT" or "NOT PRESENT". Not present transactions are online, phone etc. Many times you also need ZIP code for verification of the transaction - this depends on level of fraud checks.

Tip: Always check ATM, when you type PIN number for hidden cameras, fake keyboards and attached reader on the top of the ATM where you slide in the card. When you give away the card in the restaurant, there is nothing you can do, but at least they will not get your PIN number.

By the way: my card got copied in Phuket too Two other friends of mine had same experience. The fraud network here in Thailand is very large and even local Phuket new paper in tips for tourist recommend to get a cash and not to use card.

[ronw]

slightly off topic, but,....my son whilst travelling from Sumatera to Bangkok, had his account totally emptied...at a bank in Banda Aceh...

He arrived in Bangkok with 5 baht in his pocket....and no way to withdraw any more...

luckily he had kept his travel tickets, so was able to prove to the bank that the cash had been stolen.

later investigation showed that the money had been taken in a series of very quick withdrawals...in one case..eleven times in nine minutes...

This is a physical impossibility....which convinces me that it was taken by someone working in the bank.....

[sanook1]

Wow

Someone withdrew money from an ATM in Chiang Mai 7:00PM 3rd Jan from an ATM in Chiang Mai, using a fake copy of my British ATM card. I discovered this by looking at my Internet banking and noticed a 20,000 baht withdrawal from Chiang Mai Siam City Bank ATM machine - not sure which one.(I dont live in Chiang Mai)

I have now cancelled my card and have requested an investigation by my bank in the UK.

I have no idea how someone could copy my card, replace it and also know the PIN number. It is a normal ATM (debit) bank card, i never use it in shops or over the phone.

the only possibility i can think of is there are some dodgy atms in thailand that have been set up to copy cards and get the numbers

yes the same thing happened to me. I apparently bought 1500 pounds worth of car parts in Korea...I have never even been to Korea. My credit card company refunded the money.

[A_MIKE_U_LIKE]

Phuket police seize over 5,000 fake credit cards

PHUKET: -- Police have arrested three Sri Lankan men for credit-card fraud, seizing more than 5,000 bogus credit cards allegedly encoded with information from real credit cards.

Police suspect the three men may be part of a much larger ring operating in popular tourist areas throughout Thailand and other parts of the world.

Lt-Colonel Boonlert Onklang of Kathu Police Station identified the three suspects as Pathmathas Ganeshamoorthy, 26, Srikanthan Veerasingam, 29, and Sivagnanam Gnanakanthan, 35. The passports of all three men revealed that they had been frequent visitors to Thailand.

Boonlert said police had arrested Ganeshamoorthy and Veerasingam at the northern end of Thaweewong Road in Patong early on Tuesday evening after a closed-circuit TV camera caught the pair using a fake credit card to draw money from an ATM in front of the Kon Thai Pub in Karon.

At the time of the arrest, one of the men was sitting in a silver-coloured Honda car, the other was on the beach.

A search of the vehicle uncovered a notebook computer, 2,703 fake white credit cards and three flash drives. After the arresting officers turned down a Bt2-million bribe in exchange for their release, the men were questioned, Boonlert said.

The two men told police the cards and equipment belonged to Gnanakanthan, who had arrived in Phuket earlier that day, Boonlert said.

The men had picked up Gnanakanthan at the airport and dropped him off at his hotel, the Pen Villas in Surin, he added.

A visit to Gnanakanthan's room just after midnight early on Wednesday uncovered an additional 2,533 fake credit cards. Of these, 483 were green and the remainder white. Unlike the cards seized earlier that day, all the cards were marked with a four-digit number.

Police also seized an MSR206 card magnetic-strip reader and encoder.

All three men were arrested and are now being held at Kathu Police Station. They were taken to Phuket Provincial Court on Thursday afternoon, and each was charged with one count of electronic-card forgery and one count of possessing a fraudulent electronic card with intent to use.

All three men denied the charges. Bank officers plan to inspect the cards and determine how many of them have been used. It is still too early to estimate the cost of the men's activities to Phuket businesses, Boonlert said.

Police believe the Sri Lankans may have been operating as part of a larger fraud ring, he added.

The cards seized in Phuket were similar to cards seized in earlier raids in Bangkok and Chon Buri. Those cards were encoded with data from genuine credit cards issued in the UK, Boonlert said.

-- Phuket Gazette 2007-01-06

There has been a lot of publicity on UK TV about UK Banks selling information legally to Buyers Abroad for consumer Info ..Also people have been scouring UK Land fill sites for old statements and stuff .. I recently got a letter from one of my Banks saying that they had lost a Laptop with Info on it .. but luckily i havent activated that card yet so should be ok ..Put all this together with the Fact that most Telephone call centres (Lloydstsb) are in India now and this is what we get ..Cheap Labour = Poor standards = Poor security

I was stunned to hear the Thai Police turned down a Bribe But it was refreshing to hear .. I wonder what would of been the case if the Crims had of been Thai ??

I hope everyone,s ATM is safe now or will be very soon ..More importantly i hope everyone safe from the Bombing Campaign ..Mike

[jii]

how told you the pin was imprinted in the card? well i dont think so unless you can prove that its just not true. of note i can change my pin number while at the ATM machine. that change does not get imprinted. i dont believe the original story completely. i dont believe that the police were offered 2 million baht but refused. yea right. i thnk the police just made that part up to make them look better. so many many times these stories we read about thailand as reported from the thai side are the stories are only half truths. thing is too if someone is using at card at a atm machine and already has the code then no police would be able to have any idea that a stolen card is being used. many parts of the story dont add up.

Wow

Someone withdrew money from an ATM in Chiang Mai 7:00PM 3rd Jan from an ATM in Chiang Mai, using a fake copy of my British ATM card. I discovered this by looking at my Internet banking and noticed a 20,000 baht withdrawal from Chiang Mai Siam City Bank ATM machine - not sure which one.(I dont live in Chiang Mai)

I have now cancelled my card and have requested an investigation by my bank in the UK.

I have no idea how someone could copy my card, replace it and also know the PIN number. It is a normal ATM (debit) bank card, i never use it in shops or over the phone.

the only possibility i can think of is there are some dodgy atms in thailand that have been set up to copy cards and get the numbers

Tip to watch out for, ATM's and card swipe machines in Thailand often print the entire card number and expiry date on the receipt.

Ever noticed the bin full of receipts at the ATM machines? I got caught by this once, never again!

I also understand the PIN is imprinted on the card, so they just get your number and expiry from the ATM slip, make up a pin, encode onto a blank hey presto - or if you used it in a store, the whole lot is on the magnetic stripe!

CHIP cards are a little more secure, but not much

[SeanBangkok]

its funny that the fact that the officers turned down a bribe actually makes the story, as if it is supposed to shock you. I guess it does, but then again, there were probably dozens of officers on this case and perhaps Western help, so they werent allowed to accept the bribe, assuming the police werent already in business with these guys to begin with.

[drummer]

I guess you're calling me an ignorant sex tourist. I work a serious job here and have the same girlfriend for 4 1/2 years. I work[ed] with hundreds of Thais, and talking about culture, I'm almost certain that the post above is true, the officers took the money and made the arrest anyway.

Oh - I don't doubt that- I've seen that happen myself!

I was just commenting that Thai Rak Thai goes a lot deeper than who is dating who...

[drummer]

its funny that the fact that the officers turned down a bribe actually makes the story, as if it is supposed to shock you. I guess it does, but then again, there were probably dozens of officers on this case and perhaps Western help, so they werent allowed to accept the bribe, assuming the police werent already in business with these guys to begin with.

That would make the news anywhere, I expect. If you tried to bribe your local cop to get out of something, nd you got arrested anyway it would be newsworthy.

Locally, the Chief of Police of one of the suburbs here is getting roasted for getting a powerful friend a gun permit who shouldn't have gotten it. Front page of the papers....

[boes]

Is there any chance of getting your money back ? Talking about Thai banks.

[nikster]

I am not commenting on the police / bribe thing - we don't know what happened so why speculate?

I am surprised though that these guys apparently got PIN numbers on a mass scale. That's new and troubling and I am sure the Banks and or insurance agencies are very interested in finding out how that happened. At the same time they are also very interested in keeping any findings to themselves, so don't expect this to be public knowledge anytime soon.

PINs, as has been noted, are not on the cards. A card can be replicated by just picking up an old receipt of yours or getting the card # and name some other way. Very easy.

One type of crime that has been around forever is to make fake cards and use them to buy stuff (and then presumably sell that stuff). Old news. Keep your receipts, and if it happens the card issuer will give you no trouble and return the money and lock the card.

The other type of crime, using the card at an ATM, is new, and completely different - they got your PIN from somewhere. Could be readers set up / attached to an ATM, but those are hard to hide, especially over a long period.

I also heard of an incident in the UK where someone at the post office basically intercepted the letters the bank sends out with the PIN on it. Those letters were apparently very easy to spot - a major flaw in the system and in Britain, I know for a fact that it got exploited once. I would think that that's not possible anymore though...

[ZZZ]

Some banks, like Kasikorn, have a service with their ATM card where they will send you a SMS everytime your card number is used.

Getting a SMS that 100,000Bath is being used to buy a Rolex in Hong Kong while you are sitting on the beach in Pattaya will help you sort this out immediately.