Two people used umbrellas to cover themselves while installing card readers on the bank's main gate. (Surveillance screenshot)
The bank cards were always with their owners, but the money in them disappeared bit by bit. What is going on? Such cases have occurred many times nationwide, but this was the first one in Wenzhou.
Yesterday, the police of Yueqing informed us that they had solved a case involving bank card fraud. The suspects revealed the "secret" of how they "stole money from a distance": first, they installed miniature cameras on ATMs to steal the victims' bank card information and passwords; then, using high-tech means, they replicated the victims' bank cards and withdrew money or made purchases in different locations.
The card was never out of sight, yet the money inside "flew" away.
In late June 2008, a citizen of Yueqing went to the bank to withdraw money and found that more than 80,000 yuan had disappeared from his bank card.
At the same time, another depositor also discovered that more than 90,000 yuan had disappeared from his bank card.
In just a few days, four or five people reported to the police that their bank card money had been withdrawn or consumed elsewhere, with a total amount involved exceeding 300,000 yuan.
All the complainants claimed that their cards had never been lost, so why did the money on their cards vanish?
During the investigation, the police of Yueqing found that most victims had used an ATM machine at a bank next to Jin Xilaideng Hotel on Xuyang Road in the urban area of Yueqing before noticing that their money was missing.
According to the bank's inquiry results, most of the money was withdrawn at some branches in Nanchang, Jiangxi, and some was spent at a department store in Nanchang, Jiangxi.
Finally, the bank compensated the card users for their loss of more than 300,000 yuan.
Someone had installed a pinhole camera at the scene
Although the bank compensated for the losses, who actually took the money?
When the police reviewed the surveillance footage at the bank, they found: On the nights of June 26, 27, and 28, 2008, there was a suspicious man in his 30s.
After investigating the scene, the police suspected that this man might have installed a pinhole camera on the automatic teller machine. They quickly identified the man's identity. His surname was Duan, and he was from Jiangxi.
However, Duan had been elusive until August 28 of this year when he was arrested by local police in Nanchang, Jiangxi. At the time of his arrest, Duan had nine replicated cards on him, all from different places across China. He was then taken back to Yueqing.
With the help of a card reader and a camera, it was easy to steal card numbers and passwords
Duan admitted that he was just a "lackey" and that someone surnamed "Guang" had instructed him to do these things. Duan also confessed that at the end of June 2008, "Boss Guang," himself, and another person called "Old Man" came to Liu Shi, Yueqing, to commit the crime.
They selected an ATM machine at a bank. Duan and "Old Man" first stuck a pinhole camera above the ATM, which could perfectly capture the PIN entered by the person withdrawing money.
After installation, "Boss Guang," Duan, and "Old Man" hid nearby to observe. When they saw someone come to withdraw money, they would go in and remove the pinhole camera.
Later, "Boss Guang" would replicate the bank card based on the data captured by the pinhole camera and then withdraw cash or make purchases in a different location.
Duan confessed that he committed seven crimes in Yueqing and earned 20,000 yuan. Sometimes, they would also install a card reader on the door of the self-service bank. It was through the use of the card reader and the pinhole camera that some depositors' card numbers and passwords were easily stolen.
Currently, the case is still under further investigation.
Be sure to take precautions when using ATMs
The police remind citizens: 1. When entering the bank's self-service area access control system or using an ATM, check if the access control system's card-swiping device and the ATM machine's appearance are normal, and if there are any obvious foreign objects at the card-swallowing port. If there are abnormalities, please use with caution or contact the bank;
2. When entering your password, cover it with your hand or other items you carry before inputting, to prevent the password from being stolen;
3. Do not use common passwords (such as 888) or special numbers (such as birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) for the reserved bank card password, as such numbers are easier to crack.