Phuket Police Seize Over 5,000 Fake Credit Cards

[A_MIKE_U_LIKE]

In the Past the 4 digit number used to be obtained from a stolen credit card via rolling the magnetic strip across the magnetic wheels from inside a old Betamax Video machine ..The number would pop up on the TV screen the Video machine was attached to ..Now days its probably done with one of those merchant card payment devices internet salesmen use and probably some software linked to a PC ..so next time you pay a resteraunt bill and it takes a bit longer than usual think from behind the scenes maybe this is what is happening .As i stated in my earlier post on this Thread it has already been in most of the UK Newspapers that Private information has been discarded outside the Banks back doors unshredded and there for anyone to pick up ..also there has been incidences of Private Info being sold of to Third parties abroad under the Guise of

studying consumer Habits ..nearly all of our Private Info is already in the hands of Indian call centres and at their Mercy ..I once had a freind at work who,s wife worked in the Fraud department of a Major UK Bank and she told him that the banks only confess to a small % of the Fraud that happens as the true Figure would be to embaressing and scarey ..All of this and the UK Banks want to start bringing in a 10 pound monthly surcharge for the Privilage of keeping our money in them ??? :D

[mitrapaap]

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?

You do not seriously believe that Phuket police will browse through 5000 credit cards to find out whether one of them matches yours. Wouldn't it be easier to check your bank account transactions?

[mitrapaap]

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

It doesn't matter in which bank your money is. You can easily withdraw money at a Thai ATM while the money is on a safe Swiss bank. And you can without any problem withdraw your money that is in a Thai Bank on an ATM anywhere in the world. Credit cards don't know borders and don't care where the money is. That's what is so comfortable at them. If they fraud a british credit card while you are on holiday in Thailand, your money will just diminish surprisingly even it is in a London Bank.

[mitrapaap]

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.

I'm not quite sure whether I understand what the relation of foreign men having Thai firlfriends versus Thai men having foreign girlfriends has to do with credit card fraud. But before we make this a Thai story, lets remind us that the credit cards that got fraudulated were of british origin and the smart guy who seem to have done it were Sri Lankan.

[mitrapaap]

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

A blank white plastic card is hardly issued by a bank. Some Thai police officers may be a bit corrupt, but not totally stupid. Whether I believe what I read or hear is up to me, whether I know it better than the one who wrote or said it is a different story.

[NBT TV Phuket]

Mini-video: Foreign Credit Card Fraud Operators Were Caught In Phuket:

to see or download mini-video, go to http://www.thaisnews.com/news_detail.php?newsid=201179

Two Sri Lankan nationals Gnanakathan Sivagnanam and Veerasingam Srikanthan were brought to Kathu Police station in Patong with evidence which included thousands of fake credit cards, mobile phones, a vehicle and notebook computer. The arrest took place after Chalong police notified the local officers of foreign nationals using fake credit cards to cash money at an ATM machine at Karon beach and then fleeing to Patong, but their vehicle number plate was reported. Searching the vehicle, police found a number of fake credit cards. The criminals confessed that they had been using the fake cards to cash money from cash machines in various tourist destinations like Phuket, Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Had Yai. They also admitted to have committed crimes in UK before coming to Thailand. Pol. Lt. Bunlert On-klang from Kathu Police station said the gang caused damages of hundreds of millions in baht. If they got the money they would have fled to their home-land before committing another crime in tourist areas around the world.

from Andaman News TV11 (VHF dial) + Radio Thailand FM90.5 Phuket City, both broadcast to Phang Nga, Krabi & Phuket provinces, 8.30am & later on Phuket Cable channel 1, Thursday 4 January 2006 & www.Thaisnews.com { Our news text and mini-videos can be freely copied , but please give credit to Andaman News TV11 Phuket} (originally posted on Phuket forum on Thursday)

[TAWP]

"hundreds of millions in baht"

And they offered 2 million baht in bribe? Cheapskates.

[hgvneil]

I dont belive the news story because, how can the police be notified that someone has withdrawn money from an ATM, ? Even if it is a cloned card it will withdraw the money,the machine wont know its been stolen,if the cards been cancelled abroad already then it cant withdraw money.

The point is the machine will not call the police so how did the police know ? I think the sri lankans caught a couple of weeks ago just grassed them up.

[birago23]

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.

I think that would be a first by Thai Police...turning down 2.000.000 and not asking for it! Respect if this is really true!

[teddy_bare]

I seem to be suffering from it the opposite way.

My barclay connect card is constantly locked out of ATM in Thailand cos the Fraud Team in the UK flag it up. I have spend 1000's of Baht on phone calls to the UK having it reinstated. Even when i point out the billing address is in Thailand the Fraud Team just say Thailand is on a hot spot list for bank card fraud.

Btw alot of fraud is carried out by family members, room mates, family friends. My ex thai g/f was extremely protective of her bankcards/id card, whereas other thais i have observerd seem rather naive about the security of such items. Look to your close associates first, then check when you were last drunk, then investigate if your partner is buying stuff for (:D/friends

Bank card fraud has only effected me once in UK with 2 fraudulent fuel purchases. I called Barclays and they reimbrused me without question. I then asked why they were not even arguing over it. The customer service advisor said "They'd had hundreds of similar calls since that months' bills had been sent out". So Banks are well aware of it.

I am sure someone will blame Taksin for my opening problem, cos he would benefit from my mobile phone call charges.

Some posters on TV really need to lighten up and get laid or get high or get dead. Peiss be upon them!

Edited January 7, 2007 by teddy_bare

[gharknes]

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

slide that atm card into a slot in thailand and it doesn't matter where it comes from, data passes from your card to the machine, the problem here is the fact that thai banks refuse to be responsible for this type of crime so if it happens it is simply your loss.

thai banks don't care either way............................another type of corruption to think about

[gharknes]

I dont belive the news story because, how can the police be notified that someone has withdrawn money from an ATM, ? Even if it is a cloned card it will withdraw the money,the machine wont know its been stolen,if the cards been cancelled abroad already then it cant withdraw money.

The point is the machine will not call the police so how did the police know ? I think the sri lankans caught a couple of weeks ago just grassed them up.

i agree, the whole thing is bbullshit

[lawrence1366]

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.

Promotions??? Sigh... perhaps, if the Police department have such procedures here. Most times, they are promoted based on who they are connected with rather than on performance. As for reward, they don't have a budget....that's why you see them on the streets.....Anyway, from the thread on this news, it's a continuing saga by the police force....

[Akamai]

One arrest does not stop the problem.

I got hit on Friday when over GBP 2000 taken from my brand new Visa Card. I only started to use it when I got to Patong Beach in early December and then only at reputable stores (Lotus Tesco, Carrefour, Robinsons BKK) but got a call Friday from my UK bank asking if I had purchased jewelery on Parramatta, Australia.

Covered by the bank but still annoying to have to cut up the card that it is easiest to manage (connected to my account).

So back to checking all transacations daily.

[Arkady]

A thing to watch out for is ATM locations with more than one machine where they might put out of order notices on machines to direct traffic to the one with their camera on it.

In looking at reviews for 4 star hotels in Phuket I noticed one reviewer complaining his credit card was faked and used in Phuket after he had it swiped when checking into the Novotel Patong. He said that he didn't use it anywhere else except the Novotel and the staff had suddenly disappeared into a back office to swipe the card without saying anything. This is probably a common scam with staff selling the data to the Thai middle men of gangs like this one. Most tourists use the same credit card repeatedly on holiday and can't pin point where the data has been lifted.

My own card, used mainly in Thailand, has been faked and used in Indonesia and Japan. Luckily this was picked up by Visa in Hong Kong where my card was issued. They track spending patterns of customers to look for irregularities and routinely block purchases of items from certain categories like electronics or jewellery from certain countries. This has meant that my card has been blocked when I tried to use it myself on occasion but I don't object to this. Of course you need more than one card in case this happens.

[johnwills]

3 months ago I was notified by my credit card company that they had stopped my card due to suspicious activity. Turns out that someone in Australia spent 1000 pounds on my credit card in one day (I've never been to Australia). The credit card company refund the money straight away but said they could not send another card to me in Thailand due to the high levels of Fraud, however, they did say they would send to my home address in the UK and someone there could post it to me(doesn't make much sense). So after about 6 weeks I got my card back again. What I don't understand is how they got the pin number as the card had never been used in Thailand and hadn't been used in the UK for over 6 months.

I did read an story about individuals in call centres in India selling credit card details, so maybe this is where my details came from.

When using ATM's always shield the keypad so people or cameras cannot see you entering your pin.

[Eatdog]

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 -

LOL!

PIN never imprinted on card or om magnetic stripe