Credit card data stolen by cashier at big department store passed onto farang ATM skimmers

[webfact]

Credit card data stolen by cashier at big department store passed onto farang ATM skimmers


Image: Thairath

BANGKOK: -- Police are hunting cashier staff at a "big department store" who stole customer credit card data and passed it on to a gang of foreign thieves. Losses are in the region of 10 million baht in just eight days.

The cashier used a skimmer machine to read credit cards when customers were buying goods reported Thairath. Police said they found a moment when customers were distracted to secretly process their cards.

The information was then passed on to gang members who made fake cards using them to buy expensive items such as watches, phones and designer bags.

Two of the gang members from Belorussia were paraded for the press yesterday but there are expected to be others. Bekasau Vadzim, 30, and Bekau Aliaksandr, 23, arrived in Thailand on the 8th of June and had already stolen 10 million baht of goods, said police. They were arrested at a room in Phra Athit Road, Huay Kwang, where 400 fake cards, a skimmer machine and a computer notebook were also taken into evidence.

Natthathorn Phrosunthorn of the Immigration police said that the skimmer machine was used to read data at the counter of a big department store and that the cashier is part of the gang. He said: "The cashier would secretly get the data from the customer when they were not looking then send the information to the suspects who would enter it on fake cards to buy merchandise."

Neither the name of the store or how many staff are involved was mentioned though police said there are many other gang members including Thais and investigations are ongoing. The arrests follow complaints from a Thai bank that a team was operating. All the victims who had money stolen from their cards are said to be Thai.

Source: Thairath

-- 2016-06-16

[chainarong]

Good reason to use cash.........................

[smedly]

I have a Bangkok bank account and refused an ATM card or Debit card for this very reason, the only way I can withdraw money is in person in the bank, slightly inconveneint but I can live with it

[ignis]

I have card with Bangkok Bank + have SMS alert service + only transfer money in to that account for use of card, shopping, petrol etc, there is never more than 50,000 baht in that account, at moment just under 20,000, will top it up again next month.

You can also restrict the amount of a single transaction [set mine at 10,000 baht] and or daily withdrawal limit set mine at [20,000 baht].

Edited June 16, 2016 by ignis

[halloween]

How do Bekasau Vadzim and Bekau Aliaksandr waltz into an up-market store and buy gear with a dodgy card? Foreigners are usually asked to produce their passport when making card purchases - surely they didn't use their own.

And why didn't they just use ATMs to get cash?

[scorecard]

I have card with Bangkok Bank + have SMS alert service + only transfer money in to that account for use of card, shopping, petrol etc, there is never more than 50,000 baht in that account, at moment just under 20,000, will top it up again next month.

You can also restrict the amount of a single transaction [set mine at 10,000 baht] and or daily withdrawal limit set mine at [20,000 baht].

Also, when you open new savings accounts some Thai banks will try to tell you it's now compulsory for all new savings accounts to have an ATM card.

This is incorrect, there is no such law or regulation from the Bank of Thailand, and banks cannot make their own rules on this matter.

One of my Thai MBA students, now almost completed her Ph.D. owns and operates a Law, Accounting, Tax Business agency, She quite often personally takes new foreign and Thai clients to various agencies, including banks, to get certificates, business licenses, bank accounts etc., started.

She told me she's encountered this 'ATM compulsory' statement at several high profile banks. She is always very polite but she has no hesitation to say 'that's not correct', 'show me proof', 'never mind we will go to another bank', etc.

She has encountered the old ' no we don't have bank application forms in English because it's illegal in Thailand' many times. She calls the HO of the banks and says plainly 'your staff at xxxx branch are refusing new business'.

She also insists that she write all the details on the application forms with her customer watching her, or the new customer write the app. form and tells the bank officer to NOT start any activity to enter things into the bank computer etc, until the new customer has signed the application form. If bank service officer insists on new customer signing blank application forms she takes her customer to another bank.

Another one is banks service / new account staff saying they have to record the ATM PIN no. in their own private records. She has no hesitation to say to her new customers, 'let's go to another bank'.

She often advises people to:

- Have one ATM card but keep the balance very low. Or have no ATM cards, plenty of small banking offices open till 7 pm / 8 pm most days of the year.

- Have a credit card but watch it every second of the time:

- If staff have to go to the back room to process the card transaction take the card back immediately and cancel the transaction.

- Ask for proof that the card machine in the store prints xxxx xxxx xxxx 1234 and does not print all the 16 actual card numbers (it's now illegal in Thailand for the CC machine to print the full 16 actual numbers).

- Also, If the above is true ask whether the cashier is going to hand write the card holders name, card no., expiry date, security no., in another book (some stores do this - one of the biggest DIY stores claims it has to do this by law. Not true and illegal). If they do it, cancel the transaction and walk out.

- And set up SMS alerts for all transactions.

- My student has a friend in a Singapore consulting company which is quite involved in banking etc., security systems, she says the security with Thai banks who offer internet banking is quite good. She suggests to clients to use this but if they have multiple accounts don't put all the accounts under one internet banking account, and don't put the business / personal accounts with very large balances under the internet banking and keep these account books under personal lock and key.

- When you withdraw cash away from your own branch usually the bank teller wants a photo copy of your passport. Ask to see the teller make the copy and ensure there is only one copy and hand write all over it full details of the actual transaction: 'withdraw xxxBaht at xxx branch, city, time and date, etc. leave no blank areas with no hand writing, and sign in big writing over the top of the other hand written details. Why? There have been cases of bank staff secretly keeping a second copy to use to start health insurance scams, etc, etc.

Edited June 16, 2016 by scorecard

[stevenl]

How do Bekasau Vadzim and Bekau Aliaksandr waltz into an up-market store and buy gear with a dodgy card? Foreigners are usually asked to produce their passport when making card purchases - surely they didn't use their own.

And why didn't they just use ATMs to get cash?

"Foreigners are usually asked to produce their passport when making card purchases" Are they? I have never been asked to produce my passport on a cc purchase.

"And why didn't they just use ATMs to get cash?" Maybe no PIN required for credit card payments, but required for cash withdrawal?

[o2eZy]

I am with Kbank and they notify me by text message as soon as there is a transaction on my card ..great service ..

[GarryP]

Had my details skimmed in a major department store two months ago. The credit card company were on the ball, blocked use of my card and called me.

[MADEINHEAVEN]

I also had my card "skimmed" or whatever you call it by the staff of land of smiles national carrier at the Calcutta India airport check in counter. I had extra baggage charges, that is why staff took my card into back room to process. Couple weeks later Master Card telephoned me to ask if I had purchased expensive handbags & electronics in Singapore. I had not been to Singapore or made those purchases. Master Card without a problem removed all the Singapore charges from my credit card.

[Basil B]

Skimming is easy with cards that have magnetic strips.

Unfortunately even with cards that have chips they still have magnetic strips for use in backward countries that do not use the more secure Chip & Pin.

[Rayk]

How do Bekasau Vadzim and Bekau Aliaksandr waltz into an up-market store and buy gear with a dodgy card? Foreigners are usually asked to produce their passport when making card purchases - surely they didn't use their own.

And why didn't they just use ATMs to get cash?

I have never in the 4 years I've been here been asked to show my passport when making any credit card purchases in Thailand.

And I've made hundreds of them.

[Prbkk]

I am with Kbank and they notify me by text message as soon as there is a transaction on my card ..great service ..

Same here: the text arrives within a second of the transaction , while waiting for the parcel. It's a pretty reliable system.

[bangrak]

Happened to me in Bkk years ago, after shopping at high-end stores, a few(!) days later I got a phone call from card security in my home country to ask me whether I was/had been in Japan (no, not) as my card had been blocked for reaching the limit after several purchases in jewelry shops, in Yokohama...

After proving I was genuine, in the end the 'adventure' did cost me nothing, but when I had been travelling from Thailand to Japan, then, I don't know...

[angy]

How do Bekasau Vadzim and Bekau Aliaksandr waltz into an up-market store and buy gear with a dodgy card? Foreigners are usually asked to produce their passport when making card purchases - surely they didn't use their own.

And why didn't they just use ATMs to get cash?

"Foreigners are usually asked to produce their passport when making card purchases" Are they? I have never been asked to produce my passport on a cc purchase.

"And why didn't they just use ATMs to get cash?" Maybe no PIN required for credit card payments, but required for cash withdrawal?

maybe that halloween usually go to buy with the mask and they asked him the passport

[Mickmouse1]

Old trick which I experienced 10 years ago.My Barclaycard was fotocopied at the only place it was used in a KL restaurant/club called CARLOS.

[OnTheRun]

I has issues with my UK issued Amex card 18 months ago being skimmed here in Hua Hin. I then instructed Amex to remove my ATM facility which I only kept for emergencies anyway. I received my new card in Jan 15 and used it for the only time purchasing an outdoor table and chair set from Index Living Mall here in Hua Hin. 3 days later I checked my statement to see if the table and chairs price had been added to my statement. There was over 1,000 pounds ATM withdrawals on my account. Naturally I was a bit irate when I called Amex as they hadn't removed the ATM facility however they were helpful enough, appologised and refunded the cash but didn't do anything when I pointed out to them the source of the fraud must be a staff member at Index in Hua Hin. Since I got the money back I couldn't be bothered going to the police, I now wish I had but in any event I don't use credit cards in Thailand anymore and keep a separate account for my daily use with a limited amount in it. I'd recommend to anyone to set the daily withdrawal amount at a low figure and get SMS alerts from their bank. Unlike Amex Thai banks wont refund fraudulent activity.

[stevenl]

I also had my card "skimmed" or whatever you call it by the staff of land of smiles national carrier at the Calcutta India airport check in counter. I had extra baggage charges, that is why staff took my card into back room to process. Couple weeks later Master Card telephoned me to ask if I had purchased expensive handbags & electronics in Singapore. I had not been to Singapore or made those purchases. Master Card without a problem removed all the Singapore charges from my credit card.

Yes, always keep the card in sight.

[Maestro]

I am with Kbank and they notify me by text message as soon as there is a transaction on my card ..great service ..

How much does Kasikorn Bank charge for this SMS service?

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

My friend recently had his credit card stolen around sukhuvit area.

within a day there was 5,000 USD on it. One purchase at Loui Vitton and one or two other transactions before the card was cancelled.

He has connections with the police and was lucky enough to obtain the cctv footage from LV (I believe at Emporium) which clearly shows a Thai lady using a farangs mans credit card to purchase an obscenely expensive purse.

This was almost 2 months ago and despite the cctv footage LV has still not returned the money to him and his Thai bank also refuses to make good on it.

It's a scam and the retailers and the banks are in it together. They don't care who uses your card to buy what as long as they are selling and charging interest.

[rmacee]

They should hang these ba$tards ..

[koo]

Hopefully this (card skimming) is something that will go away within 5 years when chip cards become a norm, and banks start dropping the magstripe from the cards. Actually, where I live (Finland) one could safely scratch off the magstripe, since none of our ATMs or POS terminals actually read the magstripe any more. The card goes in any terminal only half way, so there is no chance to even try to read the magstripe.

A couple of fellow writers noted that they do not have a card and do not want one. They go to the branch office and withdraw cash over the counter. Well, I would guess that Thailand will follow suite in the technological advance, which means that quite soon (5-10 years from now) your nearest branch office could be 100 miles away and only offers cash services two hours per day.

Using a card is a lot safer than using cash. If you get robbed, your cash is gone, while you can still cancel your card and its transactions. If your card gets skimmed, your card company will reinburse you, but getting scammed on the street will end you losing your cash.

[chrisinth]

I has issues with my UK issued Amex card 18 months ago being skimmed here in Hua Hin. I then instructed Amex to remove my ATM facility which I only kept for emergencies anyway. I received my new card in Jan 15 and used it for the only time purchasing an outdoor table and chair set from Index Living Mall here in Hua Hin. 3 days later I checked my statement to see if the table and chairs price had been added to my statement. There was over 1,000 pounds ATM withdrawals on my account. Naturally I was a bit irate when I called Amex as they hadn't removed the ATM facility however they were helpful enough, appologised and refunded the cash but didn't do anything when I pointed out to them the source of the fraud must be a staff member at Index in Hua Hin. Since I got the money back I couldn't be bothered going to the police, I now wish I had but in any event I don't use credit cards in Thailand anymore and keep a separate account for my daily use with a limited amount in it. I'd recommend to anyone to set the daily withdrawal amount at a low figure and get SMS alerts from their bank. Unlike Amex Thai banks wont refund fraudulent activity.

How did they know your PIN number?

Assuming you never used it in an ATM as your post suggests.

[thaiduncankk]

Using a card is a lot safer than using cash. If you get robbed, your cash is gone, while you can still cancel your card and its transactions. If your card gets skimmed, your card company will reinburse you, but getting scammed on the street will end you losing your cash.

Judging by the threads here on TV today, about the arrest of different skimming gangs, I would disagree.

[hawker9000]

I am with Kbank and they notify me by text message as soon as there is a transaction on my card ..great service ..

How much does Kasikorn Bank charge for this SMS service?

20B per month I think. According to their website there's an "Account Alert Package" and a "Balance Change Alert Package". You activate/deactivate it from an ATM. 'Wish there was a way to activate/deactivate ATM card withdrawals (or set a 0 limit) via a simple online selection so that you could just go online and turn it on only when you plan to get cash (and then go online again to turn it back off). Oh, and I could be wrong about this, but I believe the SMS alert service is ON by default.

Edited June 16, 2016 by hawker9000

[SOTIRIOS]

...Credit Card Stolen By Thai Cashier....

...stop pretending it's the foreigners that are committing all the crimes.....

...foreigners can do nothing in Thailand without the aid and guidance....or misguidance of Thais......

..that's the reality.....

[spambot]

I am with Kbank and they notify me by text message as soon as there is a transaction on my card ..great service ..

How much does Kasikorn Bank charge for this SMS service?

They charge me 20 THB / month for this service.

[meatboy]

I am with Kbank and they notify me by text message as soon as there is a transaction on my card ..great service ..

How much does Kasikorn Bank charge for this SMS service?

although i or mrs meat have never had a card of any discription we do get a sms alert on our current accounts with LH.BANK 100bht.a yr.

[phantomfiddler]

Why don,t they just feed these people to the crocodiles !!! They don,t even have the guts to go into a bank and shout " Reach for the sky"

[gandalf12]

I get messages with Bangkok Bank every time I check my account and when there has been a payment / transfer