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Card-Skimming Scam Busted
www.EdmontonSun.com - 05/07/08

Cops are crediting a concerned citizen and his "Spidey sense" for helping crack a local cell of debit- and credit-card fraudsters.

Economic Crimes Det. Bob Gauthier described yesterday how it was back on Feb. 9 that a regular customer at a southside gas bar had his "Spidey sense" tingle after using his debit card at the station.

"He went back home and checked online to find that the card hadn't taken the money out of his bank account," Gauthier said. "He thought that was suspicious, and changed his PIN number, and then a couple days later went back."

This time, the crime-fighting citizen used a false PIN number to test the system - but the transaction still went through, making him realize: "No, no. This is not right."

It was at that point the Economic Crimes unit took over the case, soon determining that two station employees had defrauded at least 62 customers in a matter of weeks out of at least tens of thousands of dollars.

But the investigation didn't stop there. Cops targeted other employees at a half-dozen other area gas bars, too, including Sherwood Park.Despite the use of false names and false RCMP security clearances, investigators traced five men to an apartment at 88 Street and 85 Avenue.

A raid May 1 resulted in the arrests of four men - two originally from Toronto and two from the Yukon - and the seizure of items including PIN pads, debit-card machines, magnetic-strip readers, PINs and account information.

"It's believed these individuals are connected to a larger skimming operation in Ontario and Quebec," Gauthier said. "Within a week of some bank accounts being breached, the victims' information was being used in ATMs in Quebec by two of the suspects."

Police, including Const. Elvin Toy, described the fraud cell as fairly sophisticated, since its operations included a "full-meal deal" of ID theft, information transfer and stealing money. Gauthier concluded the best way for Edmontonians to protect themselves in stores and restaurants is to remain vigilant - not let their cards out of sight when paying, check their accounts frequently and report suspicious activity.

Daniel Brian Charles, 19; Vathsuthan Gobalakirishnan, 22 (a.k.a. Theepan Rjahartnam); Ashok Narayanapillai, 23; and Benjamin Harley Gattie, 21, face charges including knowingly possessing instruments for credit-card forgery, possession of PIN data and possession of property obtained by crime.

Warrants for the same charges are out for Cuhapiryan Mahendrarajah, 24, a.k.a. Haran Kumar. He is five-foot-nine and 190 pounds with dark skin, brown eyes, a shaved head and moustache.

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