Foreign skimming gang operating in Bangkok and Hua Hin arrested at seaside resort

[webfact]

 

Immigration police said at a press conference yesterday that they had arrested a skimming gang who were operating in the Sathorn area of Bangkok and in the seaside resort of Hua Hin over the last three months.

 

They are Jacob C., 39, from Romania and Gim T. W.. 33, from Malaysia, reported Siam Rath.

 

Gim was arrested at a beachfront hotel in Hua Hin and his accomplice was nabbed nearby. 

 

Their arrests followed complaints from customers of Kasikorn Bank that their accounts had been used despite ATM and credit cards always being in their possession.

 

Gim was caught with 209 "white cards" two of which had had data placed in them so they could be used to withdraw cash. He had a data adding machine. His accomplice had 28 cards and another machine and other equipment and bankbooks.

 

In skimming a machine is inserted into an ATM that reads data, which is then put on blank cards later and used to withdraw funds.

 

The pair admitted skimming and said they operated in tourist areas of the Thai capital and Hua Hin.

 

They got the data machines from China and the skimming machines from the UK.

 

They would skim in the early hours of the morning then withdraw money late at night.

 

Siam Rath said there were many victims of the pair who are now in custody facing fake card charges. Gim also is an illegal immigrant. 

 

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[tonray]

Yet another reason to never link an ATM card with your Immigration extension bank account

[steven100]

absolute scum .....   10 yrs jail for thiefs.

[transam]

These people are low-life, I hope an example is made of them to deter others from ruining folk's day.

Find the smelliest cell, please....????...............????

[bbko]

About 7 years ago my ATM card was skimmed here in Thailand and it went like this; I made a withdraw one night at a 7-11 ATM and within 24 hours several thousand USDs was taken out in some Eastern European country (Sarajevo IIRC), luckily banks in the US are insured, I reported it as soon as I found out and my bank reimbursed the money.

 

Someone correct if I'm wrong, banks in Thailand aren't insured against ATM theft/fraud.

Edited October 9, 2021 by bbko

[ezzra]

Ahhh, sometimes you wish you could take the law onto your hands and deal with those crocks the swift and proper way they deserves....

[phetphet]

That's why I only use the ATM's inside banks. Those freestanding machines outside shops etc. are too open to skimming devices being added.

[tonray]

2 minutes ago, phetphet said:

That's why I only use the ATM's inside banks. Those freestanding machines outside shops etc. are too open to skimming devices being added.

I'm going to start using the cardless withdrawal with phone option. Just safer IMHO in a society where criminals run rampant

[Dante99]

11 minutes ago, phetphet said:

That's why I only use the ATM's inside banks

Inside? Not at the banks I go into.  Outside on the bank building yes.

[jacko45k]

1 hour ago, phetphet said:

That's why I only use the ATM's inside banks. Those freestanding machines outside shops etc. are too open to skimming devices being added.

So these skimming machines are reading the chips on the ATM cards.... because I thought they were supposed to prevent skimming?

[userabcd]

1 hour ago, phetphet said:

That's why I only use the ATM's inside banks. Those freestanding machines outside shops etc. are too open to skimming devices being added.

Still need to be careful. never let your guard down.

[phetphet]

13 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

So these skimming machines are reading the chips on the ATM cards.... because I thought they were supposed to prevent skimming?

A bit of a long read: https://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/02/checkout-skimmers-powered-by-chip-cards/

 

Seems as if they don't even need batteries  these days.

[mvdf]

Many people believe that skimmers are mainly a problem in the United States, where some ATMs still do not require more secure chip-based cards that are far more expensive and difficult for thieves to clone. However, it’s precisely because some U.S. ATMs lack this security requirement that skimming remains so prevalent in other parts of the world.

Mainly for reasons of backward compatibility to accommodate American tourists, a great number of ATMs outside the U.S. allow non-chip-based cards to be inserted into the cash machine. What’s more, many chip-based cards issued by American and European banks alike still have cardholder data encoded on a magnetic stripe in addition to the chip.

 

Source: https://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/02/checkout-skimmers-powered-by-chip-cards/

 

There you have it. The reason for and source of this lucrative crime. The incorrigibility of that particular country's banking system.

 

 

[orchidfan]

5 hours ago, tonray said:

I'm going to start using the cardless withdrawal with phone option. Just safer IMHO in a society where criminals run rampant

Please inform this old guy how you set that up ?

Just had about 12000B Transferred by some crooks using my (now cancelled and replaced ) ATM card.

[tonray]

5 minutes ago, orchidfan said:

Please inform this old guy how you set that up ?

Just had about 12000B Transferred by some crooks using my (now cancelled and replaced ) ATM card.

I have both Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn apps on my phone. There is nothing to setup, it's a feature built into the apps. Basically you log into your app, select withdraw function and specify amt. Then you select card less withdrawal on ATM machine and scan the QR code the machine shows.

[thaitom]

12 minutes ago, orchidfan said:

Please inform this old guy how you set that up ?

Just had about 12000B Transferred by some crooks using my (now cancelled and replaced ) ATM card.

Yes , I would like to know about this also.

 

[Tarteso]

I am not a racist, but Romanians have a bad reputation in many European countries, as are Latin gangs in America.

 

In my case I have 2 checking accounts, every time I make a transaction, I send the amount to account number 2, which only has the amount to transfer.  The main account is always safe.

Edited October 9, 2021 by Tarteso

[hotchilli]

Skimmers, scammers I dislike them all.

[orchidfan]

18 minutes ago, tonray said:

I have both Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn apps on my phone. There is nothing to setup, it's a feature built into the apps. Basically you log into your app, select withdraw function and specify amt. Then you select card less withdrawal on ATM machine and scan the QR code the machine shows.

Ok thanks for that. Yes I have the BB mbanking app on my phone so will give it a go.

Do basically all my transfers and other payments via this app...which amazes me as to how someone got my debit card number!!

Luckily saved from total destruction by the BB SMS alerts which I acted on immediately.

Now to recover the lost money !!

[Aussieroaming]

Romanians are to skimming as Nigerians are to scamming

[Paradise Pete]

4 hours ago, Tarteso said:

I am not a racist, but Romanians have a bad reputation in many European countries, as are Latin gangs in America.

 

All gangs have a bad reputation. It's inherent in being a gang, isn't it?

[kokopelli]

A friend, in Pattaya, was recently the victim of skimming at Bangkok Bank ATM. In a period of two days hundreds of 19 Baht withdrawals were made and then 50 + withdrawals of 100 Baht were also made.  He discovered this when making a deposit in his account for 800,000 retirement extension. 

 

[HappyGoLuckyLife]

Either cardless or in bank transfers for me.

[tonray]

On 10/9/2021 at 8:33 PM, Paradise Pete said:

All gangs have a bad reputation. It's inherent in being a gang, isn't it?

Not quite as bad as a gaggle of geese but close.

[Heng]

This type of thing seemed to have went away for awhile.   Have they found a way to clone chipped ATM cards?

 

Ah, and Google says not quite.   But apparently if the attack 'causes the chip reading to fail' some cards will revert to the magnetic strip which still can be cloned.   

[sammieuk1]

Skin the skimming scamming scum alive if possible ????

[Hanuman2547]

On 10/8/2021 at 7:47 PM, phetphet said:

That's why I only use the ATM's inside banks. Those freestanding machines outside shops etc. are too open to skimming devices being added.

That is my same practice as well.  You are just taking too much risk otherwise.