RIYADH: A gang of fraudsters was arrested in Madinah trying to purchase gold jewelry worth SR39,400 using a cloned debit card belonging to someone in the US.
A woman gang member tried purchasing the jewelry using the card, which was approved electronically by the US bank that issued the card. The jeweler, however, became suspicious and asked the customer to collect her purchases the following day. In the meantime, he contacted the local correspondent bank, which rejected the transaction after finding out that the actual cardholder did not leave the US. Having informed the police, the jeweler laid a trap and contacted the woman to come and collect her purchases. The woman said she would send someone else, as she was busy at the time. The person she sent was subsequently arrested, leading to the arrest of the rest of the gang.
An official from the local office representing the US bank said storeowners have been given thorough training in detecting fraud.
Meanwhile, a worker in a prominent hospital in Riyadh reported how a VISA card he used at a five star hotel in Makkah was cloned and used in France and Hong Kong for transactions amounting to SR8,025.
“All this happened while I was still in Riyadh and my credit card was secure in my wallet. I hadn’t used it since I left the hotel,” he said.
“To detect frauds, we have a 24 hour monitoring service where a team is alerted when an ‘Out of Pattern’ transaction takes place in any part of the world,” said Priyan Attygalle, chief executive officer of American Express. He said in such cases, the bank immediately contacts the cardholder to verify the transaction.
Commenting on the fraud cases, Attygalle said some fake cards are cloned in foreign countries at the time of purchase and that cardholders should take extra care. “He should insist that the card remains within his sight and should ensure that it is swiped for that particular purchase,” said Attygalle, adding that cardholders should exercise extra care when making transactions in high-risk countries.
A senior banker, who is in charge of credit card transactions, said credit card fraud is relatively new in the Kingdom. “Cards used within the Kingdom are hardly skimmed for fraudulent purposes since the security features are secured well,” he said, adding that this could only happen when an insider working at a shop or hotel gives the information to third parties.
