This article looks at a recent ring of criminals who stole credit information from diners at steakhouses in New York City. Most of the criminals have now been arrested, and all twenty eight have been indicted.
In New York City 28 criminals have been indicted due to the credit card information theft scheme that they worked up. The criminals responsible were making counterfeit cards with the information gathered from cards that diners used to pay at top steakhouses in New York City.
Over the last year and a half the waiters took card information from upwards of fifty restaurant-goers in New York City. The waiter’s scheme involved using the cards to purchase cases of French wines, Louis Vuitton bags, Cartier jewelry and some other off the wall but expensive purchases which they then intended to re-sell and walk off with cash.
According to the Manhattan district attorney this crime was organized and orchestrated by a “very high-tech, evolving group of criminal organizers.” The criminals knew exactly what they were doing, and did it very well. Seven waiters were using electronic devices called skimmers, which read the magnetic strips off of credit cards. They used very small skimmers, the size of lipstick tubes so they could easily be concealed. The criminals also only targeted high profile cards, like high limit and no limit credit cards. The criminals knew exactly what they were doing in choosing such cards. The card owners are typically used to high credit card bills and were unlikely to notice the suspicious activity on their accounts.
After having stolen the information the counterfeiters then manufactured new credit cards with the stolen information on them, as well as the proper identification to use the cards. These counterfeiters were definitely not amateurs. The police commissioner Raymond W. Kelly described the counterfeits as being of a very high quality in duplication. The counterfeiters also did not use the same people who stole the card information to make the purchases, making it much harder to track the criminals.
They tested the cards out on things like cab rides before making their big sprees to places like Bergdorf Goodman, Burberry and Chanel to make sure that the cards would not be declined. The commissioner Mr. Kelly called the criminals “well organized and very selective.”
When the criminals were finally caught the authorities seized more than 1.2 million dollars in cash and over a million dollars worth of products. The criminals were charged with enterprise corruption, conspiracy, and grand larceny as well as other charges. One of the scariest aspects of the crime ring however was that the skimming devices that were used can be purchased as easily as finding them on the internet.
The diners were generally reimbursed for their losses occurred from the identity theft, though this will have a myriad of negative consequences for customers of the card companies in the long run as they have to find a way to make up for these extensive losses.
If you have been a victim of identity theft due to having your credit card stolen, you may have had your credit score affected, which can be devastating. It can be hard to get the loans that you need to keep your life going when you have difficulty with your credit score. The important thing to remember is to never give up! You can always fix your credit score and get things back on track!
Cutting Off Access for Oral Bacteria May Be Key to Preventing Tooth Decay
The journal of Microbiology recently published a study containing results which suggest that we may now have the keys to preventing gum disease and tooth loss. The study says that if we can strip some oral bacteria from being able to access the other pathogenic oral bacteria then we may be able to use them to help prevent decay and loss.
New Oversight Means New Rules for Credit Collectors
Recently a major consumer finance watchdog released reports that the government has plans to regulate previously unregulated financial firms. Now these debt collectors and credit reporting agencies are preparing themselves for the worst.
Green Beer? Try Green Teeth
This Saint Patrick’s Day thousands of people across the U.S. will be going out to celebrate with lots of delicious green foods like green cakes, green cupcakes, green chocolate, green eggs and ham, and even the popular Saint Patty’s Day hit green beer. But all this green food has one thing in common: green food coloring. In small doses green food coloring can be a fun way to brighten up your food or play along for Saint Patrick’s Day, but after eating green food coloring all day a person’s teeth will quickly start to show that green dye.
