Cops bust largest fraud ring in US history

A whopping 111 people were charged for their involvement in the largest identity theft ring in US history that netted more than $13 million over 16 months.

The defendants, 86 of whom were in custody, were members of five New York-based credit card fraud and identity theft groups with ties to Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, prosecutors said.

Twenty-five suspects were still at large.

“This is by far the largest – and certainly among the most sophisticated – identity theft/credit card fraud cases that law enforcement has come across,” Richard Brown, a US District Attorney said.

The defendants defrauded thousands of consumers and financial institutions, including American Express, Visa, MasterCard and Discover Card, between May 2010 and September this year, according to prosecutors.

The two-year police investigation – codenamed “Operation Swiper” – involved the use of physical surveillance and court-authorised electronic phone eavesdropping.

Authorities executed search warrants last week at 15 locations throughout New York  and Long Island, yielding $650,000 in cash, handguns, and a truck full of electronics, computers, watches, skimmers and card readers, along with lists of bank card numbers and fake identifications.

To orchestrate the crimes, the leaders of the racket obtained the stolen credit card numbers from overseas suppliers in Russia, Libya, Lebanon and China, or through online carding forums.

The masterminds also placed skimming devices in restaurants, bars, banks and retail stores to lift numbers.

The stolen data was then passed over to manufacturers, who used "reverse skimming devices" to create cloned cards.

Then, the counterfeit cards were given to teams of 'shoppers' instructed to purchase electronics, designer handbags, gaming consoles, jewellery and other high-end goods that could be resold.

Those items were sold at a discounted price to fences -- individuals who knowingly purchase stolen merchandise with plans to resell it to the public.

Members of the crime rings also allegedly used forged cards to stay at five-star hotels in Miami Beach and private villas in Puerto Rico, and rent Lamborghinis, Porches and, in one instance, a private jet to take them from New York to Florida.

“These weren't hold-ups at gunpoint, but the impact on victims was the same,” New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in a statement. “They were robbed.”

This article originally appewered at scmagasineus.com