NCJ Number
160110
Journal
Gazette Volume: 57 Issue: 11 & 12 Dated: (1995) Pages: 18-20
Date Published
1995
Length
3 pages
Annotation
In 1992, VISA and MasterCard officials reported financial losses of $50 million in Canada due to payment card fraud, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has responded through its Payment Card Unit.
Abstract
Early payment card fraud was committed by individuals and small groups who fenced illegal purchases for quick profits. In recent years, larger and more organized groups have become involved in payment card fraud. Payment card fraud involves not only illegal purchases using stolen cards but also the purchase of active account lists from employees working in service industries. These numbers can be embossed on top of existing embossed information on stolen genuine cards for reuse, or the account number may be used in the production of counterfeit cards. Counterfeit cards may also be re-embossed once the fraudulent account number has been reported to banks and retail outlets. In addition, the magnetic stripe on the back of a payment card can be re-encoded with a new account number and the signature stripe altered. The RCMP has a Payment Card Unit in which document examiners look at payment cards for evidence of alteration. The unit has developed a database to inventory different embosser makes and models and to correlate embossers from incoming cases. The unit provides special services such as deciphering altered payment card information, identifying payment card manufacturing equipment, and distinguishing counterfeit from genuine payment cards. 7 figures