Gardaí have disrupted the activities of what they believe to be the most organised ATM fraud gang yet to have operated in Ireland. Detectives in Dublin and Wicklow arrested the alleged gang members in a series of dawn raids across both counties yesterday.
A range of equipment was seized including skimmers, card-cloning machines, more than 100 credit and bank cards, pinhole cameras and €20,000 in cash.
Gardaí are now warning card-users to be vigilant when using their cards in the busy shopping period to Christmas. Sources said one new case of hi-tech card fraud is being reported every day in Ireland.
Another source said the cloning of ATM cards at on-street ATM machines is the fastest-growing technological fraud in the State. There has been a marked increase in such cases in the last two months.
Gardaí are warning card-users to cancel their transactions and walk away if they notice anything suspicious while using an ATM machine.
"There have been cases where people have spotted something fixed to an ATM machine and have gone to detach it or examine it only to be confronted by a gang member on the street and badly beaten," one Garda source said.
The equipment used in the fraud is hard to source and can prove very costly if it is lost by gangs.
Six people were arrested yesterday as part of the latest investigation. One Romanian man in his 20s was arrested on Collins Avenue on the north side of the city just after 6.30am and was taken for questioning to Clontarf Garda station.
Five people were arrested in Bray, Co Wicklow, at about 7am and were taken for questioning to Bray and Shankill Garda stations. All of those arrested were being detained under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.
Those arrested in Bray included three Romanian men in their 20s. Two women in their 20s were also arrested, including a Romanian national and a Belarussian.
The ATM fraud involves the placement of a tiny device into the slit where a card-user places their card. The device reads and stores all of the information stored on the magnetic strip of a card. Using this information, replica cards can be made.
Gangs then get pin numbers by sometimes attaching tiny pinhole cameras to the cavity on an ATM machine directly above the panel where pin numbers are inputted. The camera records the pin as it is being punched in.
Alternatively, gang members learn pin numbers by simply peering over the shoulder of a card user whose card is being skimmed. This process is known as "shoulder-surfing".
Gardaí are to join forces with the Irish Payment Services Organisation in a public awareness campaign aimed at educating Irish consumers about the dangers of credit and bank card fraud. Card fraud cost Irish consumers €9 million last year.
Jennifer Chamberlaine of the Irish Payment Services Organisation said gangs could clone a card here and then post it out of the country for use overseas.
"The withdrawals are not restricted to the country where the skimming of the card actually takes place.
"You could have a case where a card is used at, say, 2.30 in the afternoon in Dublin and then used a few minutes later somewhere as far away as Bangkok."
She said consumers all over the country should be vigilant because ATM fraud was not confined to the Dublin area.
ATM fraud: Dos and Don'ts
Be aware of any damage to an ATM or obvious sticky adhesive that may have been used to attach a skimming device to the ATM.
For investigative purposes do not tamper with anything that may look suspicious. If you find something unusual walk away and report it immediately to gardaí.
Shield the screen and pin pad so that anyone waiting to use the ATM cannot see you enter your pin or transaction amount.
If you think you see anyone or anything suspicious while visiting the ATM, cancel the transaction and advise gardaí.
If you feel your card has been compromised, change your pin immediately. This will ensure that a criminal cannot use your card, even if it has been previously skimmed.
Source: Irish Payment Services Organisation.
