Canadian and European police have busted a major international fraud ring , with authorities in Canada, France and Germany arresting 29 people suspected of being members of the ring.
The police operation, dubbed “Operation Spyglass,” is supported by Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3).
The suspects are said to be responsible for operating point-of-sale (POS) devices in shopping malls in Europe and North America.
The first arrests took place in March 2013, when 7 suspects were arrested in France and 6 in Germany. In late October, 16 more people were arrested by Canadian authorities in Montreal, Laval, Longueuil, Boucherville, Chambly and Magog. Among them was the alleged ringleader.
The suspects are accused of stealing at least 30,000 card details by modifying POS terminals. The stolen data was then used to create fake cards. On average, about $400 (€300) was withdrawn from each account. The total amount of losses is estimated at about $12 million (€9 million).
Those arrested face charges of card counterfeiting, fraud, illegal possession and illegal trafficking of card data, possession of stolen goods and theft.
The Head of the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), Troels Oerting, commented: “This is another great achievement of the very successful cooperation between law enforcement authorities in many EU Member States, colleagues around the world and in Canada, using Europol’s unique tools, whereby EC3 acted as a virtual and physical platform for the joint operation.”.
