Three tourists arrested after pinhole camera and illegal card reader found in cash machine in Hong Kong railway station
- Three men from Bulgaria believed to be key players of a fraud syndicate that ripped off card information then used it to make unauthorised withdrawals
- Investigation showed more than HK$200,000 had been stolen from accounts of seven clients of AEON Credit Service Limited
Three Bulgarian tourists have been arrested over an ATM scam after a pinhole camera and an illegal card reader were uncovered from cash machines at a railway station in Hong Kong.
The three men were believed to be the key players of a fraud syndicate that concealed the pinhole camera at a cash machine to record users’ Personal Identification Number and used the skimmer to rip off card information, according to police.
Acting superintendent Michael Lai Wai-chun of the Commercial Crime Bureau said the Bulgarian criminal syndicate made bogus cards with stolen data and used the cards and PINs to make unauthorised cash withdrawal from other ATMs.
He said preliminary investigation showed more than HK$200,000 had been stolen from the account of seven clients of a credit card company.
A law enforcement source said the gang targeted AEON Credit Service (Asia) because the company was using magnetic strips to store card details and there was no closed-circuit television coverage at some of the 126 ATMs across Hong Kong.