Credit Card Skimmers Like Internet Poker

Published: Sunday, April 23, 2006 Online-Casinos.com

CREDIT CARD SKIMMER LIKES INTERNET POKER

Keep your eyes on those credit cards

Swedish police in Skaraborg, Sweden were closing in on a credit card skimmer this week following reports of losses on Internet poker sites that the real card holders had never visited.

Nine local residents reported that their bank accounts had been hit by withdrawals, apparently through large payments to Internet poker websites that the card holders claimed they had never visited. The complainants told the police that according to their bank statements, each lost an average of 10 000 kronor in the scam.

The police investigators quickly identified a common thread, because all nine complainants had earlier shopped in the same (non-gambling) venue.... and paid with the abused credit cards.

The indications are that a cashier at the shop either wrote down or otherwise recorded the critical information on the credit cards, and then either sold on the information or used the details to gamble in Internet poker rooms. The fraudster is thought to have registered with false names and addresses and then supplied the details from the cards.

The nine people who were prejudiced in the scam have been reimbursed by the Internet poker rooms concerned, and an arrest is thought to be imminent, according to a police spokesman.

"It seems that the banks aren't putting any pressure on these poker sites to begin checking that the card number matches the name - maybe that's a bit slack," said police Inspector Christer J�nsson in a remarkable understatement.

The case again highlights the need for care with credit cards...and a definite requirement for Internet poker room operators to tighten up on security checks. The police report did not identify the poker websites concerned.