News

Victim count tops 200 in new NZ ATM card scam

April 11, 2012

New Zealand's latest card-skimming fraud has now affected 200 bank customers, up from an earlier estimate of 60, an article at the New Zealand Herald said.

Police in New Zealand told the Herald that card numbers were skimmed at EFTPOS terminals in stores, as opposed to the skimming incident last month in which card and pin numbers were obtained at ATMs. They said terminals in targeted stores had either been tampered with or replaced.

On Tuesday, authorities charged four foreign nationals from an organized crime group with the possession of 10 PIN entry devices belonging to Direct Payment Solutions. Detectives in New Zealand are working with authorities in Canada where the stolen card numbers were used, the Herald said. 

Total losses from the crime have not yet been determined, however one of the banks affected — BNZ — told the Herald that 100 of its customers have been affected. So far the bank has reimbursed $30,000 (USD$24,582) to owners of compromised accounts.

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