Some 60 Eastern European men were arrested thus far for worldwide 'skimming' operations this month. They glue payment card scanners to the fronts of cash payout points and photograph people punching in their pin-codes with a hidden mini-camera.
The camera is usually hidden inside a little 'brochure dispenser' which also is glued to the cash payout dispenser. Dutch police warn that customers usually don't catch on to the scam because the cash-point pays them the requested amount. However by the time they get home, their bank account has already been plundered. And in Australia, an Eastern-European man was also arrested for the identical offence.
Dutch police warn that this well-organised criminal gang has already copied huge numbers of electronic payment cards and pin-codes in this way right across Europe. They mail these counterfeit cards and the pin-codes to one another throughout Europe and plunder people's bank accounts.
Dutch police warn that people must be on the lookout for these fake-front payment card skimmers. One clue: banks do not ever place brochure dispensers on the cash payout points. They urge people to examine the cash-point carefully to see if anything is at all 'unusual or out of place' -- and to contact them at once, at the slightest suspicion.
The police have published photographs which illustrate exactly how this massive plunder of people's bank accounts is occurring in Europe at the moment.
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Politie Netherlands
Dutch police warn that a large international gang of 'skimmers' is gluing fake payment-card readers to the front of cash-dispensers to make counterfeit cards, and reading pin-codes with mini-cameras . Some 60 gang members have already been arrested but there are still many 'skimmers' out there.
THIS IS AN UNTAMPERED CASH-POINT MACHINE IN THE NETHERLANDS. .
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Politie NL
A Go-a-card reader is glued over the cash payout machine to make a counterfeit payment card...
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Politie NL
A mini-camera placed inside a pinholed 'pamphlet dispenser' glued to cash-payout machines reads people's pincodes...Dutch police warn that cash-points do not EVER have pamphlet-holders in The Netherlands. Anyone spotting one, is warned not to draw their cash there, and to call the police at once...
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Local banks are also emailing all their customers pictures of this scam, and ask them to send these warnings to as many people in their address books as they can.
France:
And from France, DJ-journalist Michael Cosgrove also reports a similar scam, in which a fake slot is used, with the code-reader somewhere in the slot. He describes it as 'devilishly simple'.
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Australian banks put covers on keypads...
From Australia, DJ journalist Christina Lucas also reports that the police there are warning against the practice, writing me: "I have heard of card skimming here in Australia and it is happening a lot. Some banks have even put special covers on the keypads."
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According to an Australian media release about an incident which occurred in Melbourne's CBD, it showed that as also was the case in the Netherlands, an Eastern European man was involved: Arrested was Selesi Ioan, 33, from Romania, captured by officers from Melbourne CIU in his hotel room in Spencer Street. He has been charged with seven offences of obtaining property by deception and possessing skimming equipment. All offences were committed in Melbourne's CBD in the last three days, police said.
Mr Ioan was taken before the Magistrates’ Court and remanded to appear again for trial.
