Crime on the move: A card up the sleeve for scammers
Card scammers have taken their devious crimes to the road, with point of sale machines steadily becoming their latest tool of choice, allowing them to ply their trade while on the move.
As security experts bemoan the escalating trend in the Eastern Cape, one such operation was dealt a heavy blow at the weekend when four suspects were arrested near Flagstaff, caught in the possession of a mobile speed point and several bank cards believed to have been cloned.
The arrests were made on Friday when Flagstaff police manned a roadblock along the R61 at about 4pm.
According to police spokesperson Captain Welile Matyolo, members at the roadblock were notified of a black Toyota Yaris with four occupants heading their way after allegedly scamming two victims.
“It is alleged the card scamming incidents happened in Mount Fletcher and Flagstaff, and moments after the information was received, the members spotted a vehicle matching that description.”
Matyolo said a search of the vehicle revealed a speed point machine, several bank cards and cash totalling R4,730.
He said the four men, aged between 25 and 40, could not account for the items in their possession and were arrested for possession of suspected stolen property.
“Their car was also confiscated for further investigation as the Vehicle Identification Number was filed off, and the car had false number plates,” Matyolo said.
OR Tambo district police commissioner Major-General Phumzile Cetyana said further charges could be added as the investigation unfolded.
Cetyana said they suspected the suspects were linked to similar incidents elsewhere in the province and even further afield.
This incident is one of several in recent weeks where suspects have been caught with speed points and evidence of several illicit transactions.
Safety and security expert David Phelan said this modus operandi had become more prevalent in the Eastern Cape over the last few months.
“This type of scam has been going on in other parts of the country for some time, but we’ve really seen it pick up within our province over the last six to 12 months.
“These operations are run by well-organised groups who have proved difficult to apprehend, but luckily we’ve been able to catch some of them since the start of the year.”
Phelan, who manages the Kouga municipality’s incident command centre, also co-ordinates several security groups across the Eastern and Southern Cape, tapping into various resources from private security and law enforcement.
The latest reported incident by these groups was in Pearston where a suspect was caught in possession of a speed point and several bank cards.
It is unclear if these suspects attempted any illicit transactions.
However, more concerning was an incident late in January, when suspects were caught near Makhanda with multiple speed points, and upon reprinting receipts from previous transactions, police found that several large transactions had been made, with some as much as R50,000.
Phelan said these speed points were often stolen from
petrol stations or smaller businesses, and then reprogrammed to transfer funds directly into the culprit’s bank accounts.
“These scammers often use ghost accounts, and as soon as the money reflects they quickly transfer it to one or several other accounts, making it increasingly difficult to reverse transactions and trace the funds.”
He said they also made use of the newer cards’ tap-and-go function, and simply pressed the machine against their victim’s pocket or handbag as they passed by, hoping it would pick up a bank card.
“These groups swap cars and change licence plates along the way, and they have the means to reprogramme these machines. We are dealing with well-organised criminal organisations,” Phelan said.
The SA Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) states that cards are most often cloned using skimming devices that are either attached to an ATM, or through a smaller hand-held device which duplicates a card’s magnetic strip.
“Compromised point of sale devices are also used to skim cards,” SABRIC said.
“A software program is then used to transfer the compromised card data onto the counterfeit card.”
Scammers will still need their victim’s pin number, which is often acquired by what SABRIC labels “shoulder surfing”, whereby the scammer physically looks over the victim’s shoulder while they operate an ATM.
SABRIC further stated that speed points with tap-and-go capabilities were only issued to businesses after a vetting process, and all transactions were closely monitored.
Any suspicious activity was investigated as soon as it was detected.
SABRIC also urged card holders to monitor their bank statements closely for any suspicious transactions, and to enable all necessary security protocols on their accounts — for example that a pin is required on every transaction, and that cellphone notifications are sent after every transaction, regardless of the amount.