On Thursday February 3, Toronto police announced they had arrested five men in relation to an ATM fraud investigation. The five Toronto men are currently facing 158 fraud related charges.
The arrests followed a two week investigation by the Toronto Police Fraud Squad Organized Crime Section. It is alleged the men placed skimming devices over the card-reading slots of ATMs and installed pinhole cameras that could film the PINs that customers were using.
It is alleged that the men then removed the devices placed in ATMs throughout the Greater Toronto area after a couple of peak usage hours. The stolen data was then transferred to laptop computers and later used to manufacture counterfeit credit cards.
Police also executed search warrants at four Toronto apartments. Among the property seized were computers, cameras, counterfeit identity documents and other electronic devices as well as tools used in the making of forged credit cards.
The charges against the five include conspiracy to commit fraud, possession of property obtained by crime and possession of credit cards obtained by fraud.
Quoted by the CBC, Det. Phil Hibbeln described the scheme as a “simple but sophisticated operation.”
Toronto police are reminding the public to use caution when conducting transactions at an ATM. People are advised to conceal the pad when they punch their PIN in and to report any suspicious activity to bank employees. ATM users are also urged to carefully check their bank statements when they receive them.
The entire amount of the scam is not known but at least $280,000 was stolen from one financial institution. There are at least 60 known cases of fraud that have so far been identified.
Alexander Livchits, 27, of Toronto was arrested, released and due to appear in court on March 2, 2011. The other four: Calin Nicusor Nicula, 26, Ionut Oltean, 29, Petru Mosneag, 43, and Jozsef Kiss, 41, all of Toronto were held in custody pending bail hearings.
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