Article

Canadian police put the handcuffs on ATM-skimming gang

Police seized ATM overlays, which are devices placed over the machines in order to capture legitimate cardholders' payment card data and personal identification numbers (PINs).

April 20, 2011

Canadian police yesterday announced the arrest of eight men and one woman for their participation in an organized crime group who allegedly stole approximately C$2 million (U.S. $2.1million) through ATM skimming.

The Ontario Provincial Police Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau assisted by police from other departments on Tuesday executed eight search warrants in Toronto and four other cities in order to make the arrests.

Police seized ATM overlays, which are devices placed over the machines in order to capture legitimate cardholders' payment card data and personal identification numbers (PINs). In addition, the police seized forged payment cards, three vehicles, cocaine and an undisclosed amount of cash.

Police allege the group, which is comprised of individuals from Eastern Europe, was involved in more than 300 ATM-skimming thefts in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Nova Scotia, beginning in September 2010. Canadians call ATMs ABMs or Automated Banking Machines.

"These individuals attach devices to ABMs that enable the capture of debit card data and PINs during the legitimate use of banking products by unsuspecting victims," police said. "The devices are left in place from one to two hours and then the skimmed data is encoded onto their plastic cards to be used by the perpetrators to access victims' accounts without their knowledge." 

Police charged the suspects with fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, possession of instruments for use in forging credit cards, possession and use of credit card data, laundering proceeds of crimes, possession of property obtained by crime, participation in a criminal organization, and theft of credit card data. The accused are now in jail awaiting bond hearings.

The arrests followed a two-month investigation.

"This is another example of the integrated efforts of police agencies working together to identify and capture those individuals responsible for this emerging crime trend," said Detective Sergeant Doug Cousens of the Identity Crime Unit of the Ontario Provincial Police. "Identity theft costs Canadians hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Police continue to work with the banking industry to detect and prevent identity crimes."

Canada is moving toward EMV to either reduce or to prevent skimming altogether at ATMs. About 56 percent of the 59,000 ATMs in Canada currently are EMV compliant.