Bulgarians Caught Cloning Credit Cards at La Sirena

the gorgon

Platinum
Sep 16, 2010
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my friend informed me this morning that two Bulgarain nationals were apprehended yesterday outside of La Sirena in POP, cloning credit cards.

if it is true, i hope they don't get deported. there is nothing the mattter with them that 10 years in Victoria cannot rectify.

be careful out there. it is not pretty these days..
 

chico bill

Dogs Better than People
May 6, 2016
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Yep true - seems the old iron-curtain countries have quite a few shifty blokes

http://detrasdelrumor.com.do/apresa...tas-en-un-cajero-electronico-de-puerto-plata/


A few years ago some Romanians were working with a NY Dominican gang & Locals here cloning credit cards - $45 million stolen:
http://www.dominicanwatchdog.org/page-US$_45_Million_Debit_card_scam_connected_to_Dominican_Republic


There was another case a few years (5-6) back where 2 Russians were deported ( I think from Cabarete ) for cloning cards but I can't find that story.
 

the gorgon

Platinum
Sep 16, 2010
33,997
83
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Yep true - seems the old iron-curtain countries have quite a few shifty blokes

http://detrasdelrumor.com.do/apresa...tas-en-un-cajero-electronico-de-puerto-plata/


A few years ago some Romanians were working with a NY Dominican gang & Locals here cloning credit cards - $45 million stolen:
http://www.dominicanwatchdog.org/page-US$_45_Million_Debit_card_scam_connected_to_Dominican_Republic


There was another case a few years (5-6) back where 2 Russians were deported ( I think from Cabarete ) for cloning cards but I can't find that story.

you have to love Dominican choice of words..

both antisocial foreigners...
 

zoomzx11

Gold
Jan 21, 2006
8,367
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Yep true - seems the old iron-curtain countries have quite a few shifty blokes

http://detrasdelrumor.com.do/apresa...tas-en-un-cajero-electronico-de-puerto-plata/


A few years ago some Romanians were working with a NY Dominican gang & Locals here cloning credit cards - $45 million stolen:
http://www.dominicanwatchdog.org/page-US$_45_Million_Debit_card_scam_connected_to_Dominican_Republic


There was another case a few years (5-6) back where 2 Russians were deported ( I think from Cabarete ) for cloning cards but I can't find that story.

Exactly how they got me. How they managed to get my password to use the card I do not know.
US banks are great at refunding any losses.
Hope they spend a good bit of time in jail here.
 

chico bill

Dogs Better than People
May 6, 2016
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The new chip cards are 'close to impossible to clone' - As more ATMs and POS locations in the DR incorporate chip readers only - then it will dramatically reduce cloning.

I suggest only carrying one card, and or your local bank ATM and have all the alerts setup to be notified of any withdrawals or charges - sent as text messages.
Keep your credit card companies numbers on your cell phone and freeze the account if there is unauthorized activity, or you misplace a card.

One thing is the charges here often appear to a name other than the business you used it - so it is sometimes hard to correlate.
 

malko

Campesino !! :)
Jan 12, 2013
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The new chip cards are 'close to impossible to clone' - As more ATMs and POS locations in the DR incorporate chip readers only - then it will dramatically reduce cloning.

I suggest only carrying one card, and or your local bank ATM and have all the alerts setup to be notified of any withdrawals or charges - sent as text messages.
Keep your credit card companies numbers on your cell phone and freeze the account if there is unauthorized activity, or you misplace a card.

One thing is the charges here often appear to a name other than the business you used it - so it is sometimes hard to correlate.

The problem is as follows :  my french card is a chip card. If scammers get hold of the info by, say skimming, they will then use it in a place that doesnt require a chip.  It happened to me, got card info stolen somewhere in the dr, and used after in the US, even though its a chip card.
 

chico bill

Dogs Better than People
May 6, 2016
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The problem is as follows :  my french card is a chip card. If scammers get hold of the info by, say skimming, they will then use it in a place that doesnt require a chip.  It happened to me, got card info stolen somewhere in the dr, and used after in the US, even though its a chip card.

Skimmers can't read the chip information, likely it was used only the number ?
Something, someday has to be done to make cards 100% secure.
 

PJT

Silver
Jan 8, 2002
3,562
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Follow the card.

Always, always, follow your card, be with it when it is going to be scanned for a purchase. Less chance for it to be cloned. Perps don't like you looking over their shoulders.

Be aware of scenarios such as purchasing fuel and the attendant takes the card into the office to be scanned. Get out of the vehicle and follow the card.


Regards,

PJT
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
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The new chip cards are 'close to impossible to clone' - As more ATMs and POS locations in the DR incorporate chip readers only - then it will dramatically reduce cloning.
I now use a chip card much more often than cards without a chip.
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
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Opinions about the wallets being sold that block card cloning??  I’ve seen them sold frequently, as well as passport cases.  

Is it overkill?  
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
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Opinions about the wallets being sold that block card cloning??  I’ve seen them sold frequently, as well as passport cases.  

Is it overkill?  
In the future it will be moot as about every credit or debit card will have chips upon receiving the new card.
 

AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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In the future it will be moot as about every credit or debit card will have chips upon receiving the new card.



All my cards have chips, but they still have the magnetic strip with all the info.  Occasionally I am somewhere that they do not have a chip reader and I still have to swipe.  
 

malko

Campesino !! :)
Jan 12, 2013
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Skimming, is when a card reader is camouflaged in an ATM, for example. My french card still uses the chip in the ATM, code and the security that goes with it.
BUT scammers can still use that information in a country, like the US, that dont require a chip, for purchases.

So even though france has being using exclusivly chips for the past 30+ years, my card info can still be stolen and used in the US, where they dont exclusively use chip readers.

So even if the dr goes the french route, ie chips for all, as long  as other countries are slacking, in my personnal case, the US, scams will still happen.
 

chico bill

Dogs Better than People
May 6, 2016
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That's the only places I will use a card.

When I first moved to the DR I got whacked 5 times.

No mas.

Ouch, yeah I'm ultra careful too.
I leave only what I know I will be using in my ATM and transfer as needed.
I hate they started forcing credit cards with ATMs
 

CristoRey

Welcome To Wonderland
Apr 1, 2014
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Bulgarians have been doing this in south east Asia for years.
Guess they're testing the waters a bit more over here now that
most Asian countries / banks are wise to this type of crime.
 

tmnyc

New member
Oct 19, 2006
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Opinions about the wallets being sold that block card cloning?? I’ve seen them sold frequently, as well as passport cases.

Is it overkill?


They are useless if you have traditional chipped credit cards (some cards are non-swiping i.e. tap and pay). Chipped Credit cards have chips similar to phone SIMs. They can only be read/cloned by direct contact (chip reader). The wallets/card/passport sleeves only protect cards/documents that have an Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) like US e-passports/biometric passports, US Passport cards, etc. RFID capable cards/documents can be identified by the following symbols:

RFID-Passport.jpg

220px-Front_cover_of_the_Panamanian_biometric_passport.jpg
220px-EPassport_logo.svg.png
Pacsafe%20RFIDSleeve%2050%20RFID-blocking%20passport%20protector%20Sleeve%20-%2010370100.png
 
May 5, 2007
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Give them (Thieves) time, if a "pick proof" lock is invented a way to open it is not far off

Ever wonder what would happen if the people who put their time and energy into defeating legal ways of doing things (From lock picking to computer hacking) used that expertise to develop or improve legal items