Three tourists arrested after pinhole camera and illegal card reader found in cash machine in Hong Kong railway station

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.

The source said an investigation showed not many customers were affected.

A spokesman for Aeon, a Hong Kong listed company, said all ATM services would be suspended on Friday for inspection and security enhancement.

He was unable to say when the service would resume but added a notice would be posted on the company’s website.

This was the first time a machine had been tampered with since the company set up in the city more than 20 years ago, he added.

The case came to light when an ATM in East Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station malfunctioned and staff found an illegal card reader inserted in the slot in April. Police were alerted.

After the discovery of the skimmer, staff members of the company enhanced patrol around the 126 ATM machines across the city.

On April 23, police were called to the same railway station as a pinhole camera and a card reader were found at the ATM.

After a 10-day probe to identify the gang, officers arrested the three men when they raided two hotel rooms in Jordan in early hours of Thursday.

Inside the rooms, officers seized 114 finished and semi-finished fake cards and HK$70,000 along with pinhole cameras, skimmers, computer and other equipment.

Police investigators believed the gang had been in operation for about a month because the three men came to the city in late March.

Senior Superintendent Kelly Cheng Lai-ki said the scam was not a new tactic but it was the first time this type of card reader had been found in the city. She said the same type of the skimmer was found in Britain about two months ago.

She said the device could not read the details of chip-based cards.

Police urged the public to stage vigilant and protect their PIN while using ATMs.

The AEON Credit Service had been contacted by the Post.

As of 4pm on Friday, the three suspects aged between 26 and 33 were still being held for questioning and had not been charged.

They were arrested on suspicion of using forged documents and making or possessing equipment for making false instrument. The offence carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail in Hong Kong.