Overseas Gangs Have Skimmed Over $50 Million From EFTPOS Terminals

Credit card fraud in Australia is at an all time high as police admits we are in the midst of the biggest ever EFTPOS crime wave. International crims have ganged up on retailers’ machines to steal a whopping $50 million.

Detected by the NSW fraud squad, the attack was the biggest Detective Superintendent Colin Dyson has ever seen. The worst off are specialist clothing stores, fast-food chains, and convenience stores.

McDonald’s has reported to have been really hit by these gangs via their EFTPOS terminals. To pay for services and goods in-store people usually swipe their debit cards and credit cards while paying. Therefore it is hard to keep track of what’s good and what’s not, especially in busy times.

The crime is at its biggest in suburban Sydney and NSW coastal cities. NSW Police Strike Force Wigg has already identified some 50 people who have been singled out to be potential gang members. Many of them are from a certain Asian country and currently outside Australia. So far six people have been arrested in conjunction with credit card fraud.

Supt Dyson said: “This is an international group, it’s a very large group. The members of that group arrive in Sydney and other capital cities in Australia, they travel between capital cities, commit these offences and leave the country again.”

“Each has their own roles and functions to play. There are organisers that are in the country from time to time and then go back overseas.”

People are strongly urged to change their PIN numbers to reduce the likeability of being the next target.

“There is sometimes a lag between PINs being compromised and used,” he said. If someone whose details are skimmed changes their PIN quickly, the data can be useless to the criminal.”

This current crime wave is apparently the first ever that focuses on EFTPOS machines. So far criminals have targeted ATMs but what the police has seen is worrisome. Every Australian capital city and some regional centres have already been hit.

Only last year legitimate EFTPOS devices at McDonald’s outlets across Perth had to be replaced with compromised card-skimming versions. As a result 3500 customers were cheated of $4.5 million due to credit card fraud.

Source: News.com.au

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