Bogus credit cards found after crash

REGINA — A rollover on the TransCanada Highway led RCMP to a collection of fraudulent credit cards.

On March 21, Morse RCMP found a 2004 Dodge Durango in the centre ditch near Ernfold. Officers found a firearm and seven grams of meth amphetamine at the scene.

Interested in what else might be inside the vehicle, they got a search warrant for the Durango and found altered gift cards, computers, two grams of cocaine and drug paraphernalia.

Most of the cards were Visa and MasterCard brand, with the real numbers sanded off along with the amount of the card.

The suspects appear to have embossed stolen credit card numbers onto the cards, as well as expiry dates and customer names, police said.

“It seems to (be) more prevalent,” RCMP Const. Anthony MacKinnon said. “It’s just a new form of them being able to manipulate the system.”

This is the second time in recent memory Saskatchewan RCMP have made arrests over fraudulent gift cards. A group from Montreal was found with some earlier this year.

MacKinnon said the use of gift cards has increased as more people take to online shopping. Merchants should keep an eye out for people spending an unusually long time with machines, he said.

“You’re going to hear extra numbers, that type of thing.”

Merchants who grow suspicious should take a close look at the card themselves.

“If you have one of these in your hand, you definitely know it’s forged,” MacKinnon said.

Not enough merchants are taking the time to see what people are using to pay for goods, he added. “They’re not really questioning if it’s a legitimate card.”