Police cripple major ATM card forgery syndicate
BY M. KUMAR
Busted: ACP Chong (centre) showing the forged ATM cards which were seized from the apartment in Taman Cempaka, Ampang, during the press conference at the Selangor police headquarters.
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SHAH ALAM: Police crippled a major ATM card forgery syndicate believed to have been behind the theft of millions of ringgit.
Two syndicate members, Sri Lankans aged 28 and 38, were nabbed and 2,217 forged ATM cards were seized from an apartment in Taman Cempaka, Ampang, around 8pm on Monday.
Selangor Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Asst Comm Chong Mun Phing said the syndicate, despite being active for only two months, might have stolen millions of ringgit.
“This group forges ATM cards belonging to bank accounts from overseas and then makes the withdrawal here.
“We are still checking on the amount stolen but if they withdrew an average of RM1,000 per ATM card, that’s over RM2mil,” she said during a press conference at the Selangor police headquarters yesterday.
“They get the information to forge an ATM card from overseas and then create it here.
“They then send the cards to other members of the syndicate throughout the Klang Valley to make the withdrawals,” she said.
ACP Chong also said the cards were delivered to the syndicate members in special security boxes with combination locks.
She added that police also seized a large number of the security boxes during the arrests.
“They target victims from overseas because the ATM cards used there do not have a microchip and only use a magnetic strip which is easier to forge,” she said.
Initial checks showed that most of the bank accounts accessed by the syndicate were from Europe.
“We are still tracking the remaining members of the group and hope to detain them soon,” she said.
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