Credit Card Fraud…Mafia Style

Some people think: Credit card fraud? Oh heck no, not me. Have you ever used someone else’s card to make a purchase? Yeah, probably so. It’s harmless enough. Here’s how it goes: Your daughter is running up to the store to get some items and you say, “Here, use my card”. No problem right? Well it really doesn’t violate any state or Federal law but it probably does violate your contract with your credit card company but so what. Step across the line, go ahead. It’s not fraud as long as no fraud was committed or intended and that’s really up to the owner of the card.

TRUE STORY: Dan and Becky have been together for eight years. Every Monday and Thursday Dan would use Becky’s credit card to get gas in his car for his commute to work. Dan would also use the card for lunch or dinner from time to time. Becky happens to look at the credit card statement an notices there are often two lunches or dinners paid for on the same day. Can anyone guess what happens next? Becky starts her investigation. Every man knows that it is impossible to withstand a woman’s examination of the evidence and the cross examination of the days, dates, places and times that the dual dinners and lunches occurred. Eventually the truth comes out. Becky discovers that Dan has been having “lunch and “dinner” with co-worker, Ellen, and paying for it with her card. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. In the end Dan was charged with credit card fraud and obtaining money under false pretenses

ANOTHER TRUE STORY: Imagine a van loaded with credit card blanks, skimmers, cameras and three men from an Armenian crime crew. They were arrested in a Bank of America parking lot where they were parked. Their van was positioned so they had a clear view of the ATM so the camera could take close ups of pin numbers. The fraudsters would take turns standing in line so they could get close enough to skim the info on the card and they would match the pin and clean the account. The Bank of America teller noticed that the van had been there all morning and alerted his manager. Now imagine 100 of these Armenian crime crews throughout the United States doing their best to do their worst. Devastating. Honestly, I think if any of us think long enough and hard enough about how to commit fraud we could probably come up with a 100 ways to do it. Just remember this: There are 101 ways to get caught.