Brits Charged Over Atm Scam

[taxexile]

Brits charged over fake ATM-card withdrawals

Mark Hubert Veerasawmy, 44, and his son Sonny, 19, at Phuket City Police Station. Photo by Yongyot Preurksarak.

PHUKET CITY: A father, mother and son from the UK have been charged with using fake electronic cards to withdraw more than 100,000 baht from ATMs while on holiday in Phuket.

Capt Supachai Petchkul of Phuket City Police Station today told the Gazette that police received an anonymous phone call at 1:40 am yesterday reporting that two foreign men were behaving strangely in front of the Kasikorn Bank branch on Chanacharoen Rd, near the Robinson department store.

Police arrived to find Mark Hubert Veerasawmy, 44, and his son Sonny, 19, withdrawing cash from the bank's ATM. Both were wearing small white masks that covered the nose and mouth, Capt Supachai said.

The pair were found in possession of 15 withdrawal slips, 10,000 baht cash and 35 fake ATM cards with a magnetic strip on one side and a two-digit and a four-digit number handwritten on the other side, he said.

"We took them to the police station, but we forgot to take their mobile phone, which they used to call Jennifer Anne Chapman, 31, from England, to tell her that they had been arrested," Capt Supachai explained.

After questioning the father and son, police moved to the Mukda hotel in the Phun Pol area of Phuket City to search the two rooms the family was staying in.

"We went to their hotel and found his wife and baby girl, about two to three years old, in front of the hotel. We searched their rooms and found more than 100,000 baht in bundles separated by rubber bands," Capt Supachai said.

He alleged that the phone call gave Ms Chapman the chance to dispose of the machine used to encode the fake cards with bank account numbers and PIN numbers.

"It would be great if we could get the machine because it would be useful as evidence. However, a motorcycle taxi driver parked near the hotel told police that [before police arrived] he saw Ms Chapman walking along the road with a black bag, but she returned to the hotel without it," Capt Supachai said.

The three were charged with cheating by using fake electronic cards. "The three today signed papers acknowledging the charges," Capt Supachai said.

He added that they are now being held at Phuket Provincial Court.

The baby girl, who police did not name, has been handed over to the British embassy to be returned to the UK.

Edited February 20, 2008 by taxexile

[game4shame]

ar5eholes.

2 of my mates have been the victims of ATM fraud recently - 1 for thousands of pounds.

[Zpete]

I take 2 ATM, PLUS cards, to Thailand for emergencies.

Only 10 bucks in each account.

I use internet bank transfer of funds from another bank, immediately prior, to any withdrawal if needs be.

Nobody get much if they steal my card IDs

[happyjackthe4th]

Bet they are not going to get a gentle slap on the wrists and told not be so naughty , like they would in the UK , if they haven't got enough for the local law enforcements pension contribution , it's tough shit , I dont have any sympathy , this is not the sort of place I would want to get caught commiting crime , it's bad enough when your innocent!!

[mikethevigoman]

Brits charged over fake ATM-card withdrawals

Mark Hubert Veerasawmy, 44, and his son Sonny, 19, at Phuket City Police Station. Photo by Yongyot Preurksarak.

PHUKET CITY: A father, mother and son from the UK have been charged with using fake electronic cards to withdraw more than 100,000 baht from ATMs while on holiday in Phuket.

Capt Supachai Petchkul of Phuket City Police Station today told the Gazette that police received an anonymous phone call at 1:40 am yesterday reporting that two foreign men were behaving strangely in front of the Kasikorn Bank branch on Chanacharoen Rd, near the Robinson department store.

Police arrived to find Mark Hubert Veerasawmy, 44, and his son Sonny, 19, withdrawing cash from the bank's ATM. Both were wearing small white masks that covered the nose and mouth, Capt Supachai said.

The pair were found in possession of 15 withdrawal slips, 10,000 baht cash and 35 fake ATM cards with a magnetic strip on one side and a two-digit and a four-digit number handwritten on the other side, he said.

"We took them to the police station, but we forgot to take their mobile phone, which they used to call Jennifer Anne Chapman, 31, from England, to tell her that they had been arrested," Capt Supachai explained.

After questioning the father and son, police moved to the Mukda hotel in the Phun Pol area of Phuket City to search the two rooms the family was staying in.

"We went to their hotel and found his wife and baby girl, about two to three years old, in front of the hotel. We searched their rooms and found more than 100,000 baht in bundles separated by rubber bands," Capt Supachai said.

He alleged that the phone call gave Ms Chapman the chance to dispose of the machine used to encode the fake cards with bank account numbers and PIN numbers.

"It would be great if we could get the machine because it would be useful as evidence. However, a motorcycle taxi driver parked near the hotel told police that [before police arrived] he saw Ms Chapman walking along the road with a black bag, but she returned to the hotel without it," Capt Supachai said.

The three were charged with cheating by using fake electronic cards. "The three today signed papers acknowledging the charges," Capt Supachai said.

He added that they are now being held at Phuket Provincial Court.

The baby girl, who police did not name, has been handed over to the British embassy to be returned to the UK.

Keep it in the family eh !,. bizarre,.

[funfun]

"that two foreign men were behaving strangely in front of the Kasikorn Bank"java script:add_smilie("","smid_10")

rolleyes.gif

"Both were wearing small white masks that covered the nose and mouth"java script:add_smilie("","smid_7")

biggrin.gif

"The pair were found in possession of 15 withdrawal slips, 10,000 baht cash and 35 fake ATM cards" java script:add_smilie("","smid_13")

smile.gif "but we forgot to take their mobile phone"java script:add_smilie("","smid_8")

laugh.gif

[funfun]

well i fluffed that up!

[londonthai]

doing such crime in a small town, sooner or later, will end up badly.

[ChiangMaiThai]

Strange indeed to keep it all in the family. Out of curiosity, how do they get the bank account number and pin that they would need to encode the fake cards? (No i don't plan on trying this myself. Just wondering how you would avoid these kind of people from withdrawing from your account). And in Thailand, what happens if there are fraudulent transactions like these from your account? Do you get your money back or are you out of luck?

[Momo8]

For a professional all is needed is an ATM withdrawl slip,which most people throw away and an encoding device.

In Malaysia I lost AU$5000 from an ATM fraud.The bank traced it back to someone taking my thrown away slip and making up a new card all in the space of 8 hours.I did get my money back as the crims withdrew it while I was on a flight back to Oz but it took months and apparently I was not the only victim.

Beware of throwing away transaction slips.

[sweetchariot]

For a professional all is needed is an ATM withdrawl slip,which most people throw away and an encoding device.

In Malaysia I lost AU$5000 from an ATM fraud.The bank traced it back to someone taking my thrown away slip and making up a new card all in the space of 8 hours.I did get my money back as the crims withdrew it while I was on a flight back to Oz but it took months and apparently I was not the only victim.

Beware of throwing away transaction slips.

Sorry Momo8, but coming from a banking background there is no way they can clone cards from a withdrawal slip. Take a look at one - there is virtually no information on it. I think your bank were giving you a load of BS, and trying to make you feel responsible.

Sounds like they were probably skimming cards - attaching a small device to the ATM slots which reads your card data, and attaching a small camera in the ATM housing to record your PIN.

These kind of devices are pretty easy to spot for us savvy westerners, but for a naive Thai without alot of banking knowledge they would probably not be looking. It sounds like it was mostly Thais that got scammed if they had to make 15 withdrawals to get 10k.

Edit to add: this type of fraud has been virtually eliminated in most Western countries with the implementation of Chip and PIN technology, where your details are stored on an encrypted microchip rather than a magnetic strip.

Edited February 22, 2008 by sweetchariot

[Momo8]

You're probably right and no idea how it was done.That's just what I was told and this is going back years ago.Modern technology has caught up in recent years.Luckily this ended happily for me.

[sadman]

Well, God bless them for providing such a positive example of how us Brits behave

It isn't enough that we send idiots over to get drunk, stupid and aggressive, take the p**s out of the locals and generally embarass the rset of us. Oh no. Let's have a crime holiday as well, shall we?

It makes me SO ANGRY

Edited February 22, 2008 by sadman

[londonthai]

These kind of devices are pretty easy to spot for us savvy westerners, but for a naive Thai without alot of banking knowledge they would probably not be looking. It sounds like it was mostly Thais that got scammed if they had to make 15 withdrawals to get 10k.

Edit to add: this type of fraud has been virtually eliminated in most Western countries with the implementation of Chip and PIN technology, where your details are stored on an encrypted microchip rather than a magnetic strip.

nor thai neither westerner has a lot of banking knowledge - even your own knowledge might be behind what's happening in the crime world, if you are not a professional in that field.

those brits were withdrawing 10k each transaction - the limit in thailand is 20k. That's why they had 35 cards and 100k in the hotel room.

If course card fraud exists in the west and is the growing problem for banks - last year Barclays bank called me, asking about the transaction for over £100 at the cosmetic shop on the high street. The bank asked me what transactions I did recently and if by any chance I was buying tickets from the budget airlines. Apparently I did buy from easyjet.

it's not only that people who charge your card pass your info to criminals, but the banks employee itself sell the info to the gangs. There was a documentary program on the bbc some 4 months ago about an undercover journos investigating card fraud.

[sweetchariot]

These kind of devices are pretty easy to spot for us savvy westerners, but for a naive Thai without alot of banking knowledge they would probably not be looking. It sounds like it was mostly Thais that got scammed if they had to make 15 withdrawals to get 10k.

Edit to add: this type of fraud has been virtually eliminated in most Western countries with the implementation of Chip and PIN technology, where your details are stored on an encrypted microchip rather than a magnetic strip.

nor thai neither westerner has a lot of banking knowledge - even your own knowledge might be behind what's happening in the crime world, if you are not a professional in that field.

those brits were withdrawing 10k each transaction - the limit in thailand is 20k. That's why they had 35 cards and 100k in the hotel room.

If course card fraud exists in the west and is the growing problem for banks - last year Barclays bank called me, asking about the transaction for over £100 at the cosmetic shop on the high street. The bank asked me what transactions I did recently and if by any chance I was buying tickets from the budget airlines. Apparently I did buy from easyjet.

it's not only that people who charge your card pass your info to criminals, but the banks employee itself sell the info to the gangs. There was a documentary program on the bbc some 4 months ago about an undercover journos investigating card fraud.

I was referring to ATM fraud, not card fraud. The only form of card fraud remaining in the UK is 'buyer not present' transactions, ie. internet or telephone purchases.

[karlbkk]

now the cops have the fake cards mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

karl...

[karlbkk]

when you go to an ATM look at it first then see if the card slot will come away in your hand then look for a cam above the keypad ok none turn round and tell the guy or sometimes kid up your ass to f*** o** then its safe to use.

but do not forgrt the keypads here in Thailand make a tone and its a diffrent tone for each key you press

so its skim the card and hear the tune

[londonthai]

I was referring to ATM fraud, not card fraud. The only form of card fraud remaining in the UK is 'buyer not present' transactions, ie. internet or telephone purchases.

on 1st of may last year somebody spend my money in a high street shop - I would think they were at the shop with my faked card

[Rinrada]

Both were wearing small white masks that covered the nose and mouth, Capt Supachai said....????

Wot wos that all about?.......... s ..good reasoon to be banged up never mind anything else....

[LivinLOS]

Both were wearing small white masks that covered the nose and mouth, Capt Supachai said....????

Wot wos that all about?.......... s ..good reasoon to be banged up never mind anything else....

ATM's generally have a camera inside..

[Briggsy]

The Phuket cops are gonna keep at least one of the family locked up until they've taught them how to do the scam. Expect more ATM shenanigans from the Phuket area once the cops start up their own business.

[naka]

Both were wearing small white masks that covered the nose and mouth, Capt Supachai said....????

Wot wos that all about?.......... s ..good reasoon to be banged up never mind anything else....

ATM's generally have a camera inside..

Every Kbank ATM I've been to recently takes your pic before the card is returned

If you are standing to one side ... then the card stays in the machine. Good Idea.

As for being Brit's ... perhaps time for new definitions.

Naka.

Edited February 23, 2008 by naka

[Super Hans]

"We took them to the police station, but we forgot to take their mobile phone, which they used to call Jennifer Anne Chapman, 31, from England, to tell her that they had been arrested," Capt Supachai explained.

I love this - amazing how forgetful you can be, especially when a load of money is waved in front of your nose...

[Dupont]

Nice that they have been paraded in front of the cameras in this way. Pitty they didn;t receive a few slaps for slouching and looking arrogant.

Back home it would be a simple "I know my rights and am saying nothing. Get mr Smyth-FFFFortesque-Moneybags on the phone and tell him to get round here with our legal aid forms smartish. Don't bother with any meals or getting our cell ready as we will be out in a jiffy" Bet any English Boys in Blue will be wetting theirselves when they see these clowns.

[harleyclarkey]

Well done Mark. What a great example you have shown to your young fella of only 19. To show him how to commit crime is, clearly for you, such a wonderful thing for a father to show his child. How can you possibly show, encourage and actively commit these crimes with your son?? Why could you not have just come over and had a good time and shown him the good things in life??

You are a right tosser and hope you rot in some slum jail for a long time. I feel sorry for your son...you are 100% responsible for him and what he did. You don't deserve kids....and we don't deserve your kids either.

[geriatrickid]

I have to give credit to the watchful citizens and the police for responding. In my origin western city, locals would pretend not to see anything (and then complain about how no one does anything about crime) and the police wouldn't get out of their patrol cars as that would mean coming in contact with people.

It's a rarity for these crimes to be caught. I'd anticipate the banks demanding the full charges be brought. The various atm networks take a bath on these frauds and of course it's the bank customers that pay for these losses either through non compensation for theft or high service charges. These buggers were stealing from all of us.

Who wants to wager that Dad probably has a nice record back home? . Maybe they can get some quality bonding time in a Thai prison. A couple weeks should teach them the facts of life. At the very least, it would wipe the condescending smirk off papi's face.

[Dupont]

I have to give credit to the watchful citizens and the police for responding. In my origin western city, locals would pretend not to see anything (and then complain about how no one does anything about crime) and the police wouldn't get out of their patrol cars as that would mean coming in contact with people.

It's a rarity for these crimes to be caught. I'd anticipate the banks demanding the full charges be brought. The various atm networks take a bath on these frauds and of course it's the bank customers that pay for these losses either through non compensation for theft or high service charges. These buggers were stealing from all of us.

Who wants to wager that Dad probably has a nice record back home? . Maybe they can get some quality bonding time in a Thai prison. A couple weeks should teach them the facts of life. At the very least, it would wipe the condescending smirk off papi's face.

Would be nice to find out where these oiks are from and send links to the local news papers and web forums.

I too believe they will have a lifetime of crime under their belt and that their neighbours are fed up with them and scared stiff of them. Would be lovely for their victims back home to see them paraded around like this. Hope we get to see em in prison sometime!

Any news?

[thesaint04]

I have to give credit to the watchful citizens and the police for responding. In my origin western city, locals would pretend not to see anything (and then complain about how no one does anything about crime) and the police wouldn't get out of their patrol cars as that would mean coming in contact with people.

It's a rarity for these crimes to be caught. I'd anticipate the banks demanding the full charges be brought. The various atm networks take a bath on these frauds and of course it's the bank customers that pay for these losses either through non compensation for theft or high service charges. These buggers were stealing from all of us.

Who wants to wager that Dad probably has a nice record back home? . Maybe they can get some quality bonding time in a Thai prison. A couple weeks should teach them the facts of life. At the very least, it would wipe the condescending smirk off papi's face.

Would be nice to find out where these oiks are from and send links to the local news papers and web forums.

I too believe they will have a lifetime of crime under their belt and that their neighbours are fed up with them and scared stiff of them. Would be lovely for their victims back home to see them paraded around like this. Hope we get to see em in prison sometime!

Any news?

I have just been told about this, by my friend who's sister happens to be the wife of the gentleman. I have known Ms Chapman for almost 15 years and she is not stupid enough to partake in such dealings. If her husband has done this I think she would have not known about it. She pleads that she was innocent of this and, knowing how quick the police are to prosecute foreign nationals, think she has been arrested unfairly. I don't know about the father and son as I don't personally know them, but I know that Ms Chapman would not have got involved in this. If she did know about it I know that Jenny Chapman would have kept out of it!! I know this probably sounds hard to believe but I have known her and her family for years and I believe that she wasn't directly involved!! You cannot always blame people by association, and I think that the Thai police have done in this case.

Also I know that Ms Chapman has no previous convictions with the british police, but again I don't know about her husband but from what I have been told he has never done anything like this and this has shocked Ms Chapman's family.

Edited February 26, 2008 by thesaint04

[LivinLOS]

Yeah so her dumping the evidence was just coincidence at discovering her husbands shocking arrest ?? While sat in a room surrounded by 100k bundles of notes and card blanks ??

Get real..

[thesaint04]

Yeah so her dumping the evidence was just coincidence at discovering her husbands shocking arrest ?? While sat in a room surrounded by 100k bundles of notes and card blanks ??

Get real..

I am 'getting real'.... If you read the report properly it actually doesn't say that. I suggest SIR that you firstly read the report thoroughly and then also remember the old english saying 'innocent until proven guilty'. She protests her innocence and knowing her as well as I do I believe her!!

Sorry but I know this girl way to well to know she hasn't done anything, if her husband has then justice will be done, but sorry she wouldn't do such a thing. Don't believe all you read!!

Edited February 27, 2008 by thesaint04