Skimming the skimmers
The ‘Wired’ October issue has an article on skimming; “What’s your magstripe worth?”. Florida is apparently a hotspot for skimming. It could also be the case that skimming is prevalent all across the US and Florida is just a bit more aggressive in prosecution.
A review of some Florida court cases show how much (or: how little) the actual skimmer receives for the magstripe information. Obviously, we are talking about the individual waiter or clerk that as a solo initiative starts to copy magstripes from clients as ourselves and subsequently sells the info to fraudsters.
Wired provided some skimming info from Florida courtcases:
“Lan Pan Asian Café, Miami $7.50
Too many middlemen depressed the price for Daniel Argueta, who, until February, was a server at this Asian restaurant in a Miami mall. At the top level, a buyer named “Warijo” was paying a decent $20 for skimmed cards. But there were two more layers of crooks between Argueta and Warijo, and by the time they all took their piece, the waiter was making less than the menu price of a Tuna Tataki. Meanwhile, the fruits of Argueta’s labor were used to ring up $30,000 in bogus charges on 43 cloned cards — or about $700 a piece.
Popeyes, Louisiana Kitchen, Miami $10
Last month an alert customer at one of the chicken chain’s Miami stores spotted a worker skimming his card behind the counter. When the cops arrived, the sticky fingered employee initially claimed he was innocent, then cracked like a poultry egg when the Secret Service appeared with their crisp suits and a few more questions. After turning over his Mini-123 magstripe reader, the worker told the agents that he’d been offered $10 per credit card by a guy from the neighborhood, who was quickly rounded up and thrown in the pen.
Burger King, West Palm Beach $10
Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, but don’t let Alex Joel Garcia hold your credit card. In March, Garcia admitted to the feds that he’d supplemented his fast food income to the tune of $7,000 by selling credit card data he skimmed from drive-through patrons. He’d been recruited by a customer — “want to make some extra money?” — and was earning only $10 per card, but evidently made it up in volume.
Latin Café 2000, Miami $20
Now we’re getting into some real money. Waiter Evolio Mechado got his skimmer from a contact he knew as “Chispa,” who slipped him a Jackson for every swipe. Last April the Secret Service, following up an informant’s tip, nailed Mechado, turned him, busted Chispa, turned Chispa, then set up the alleged mastermind of the ring, one Ivan Banguela. On the drive to jail, Banguela complained to the agents that he’d been having trouble finding a real job.
McDonalds, Miami $30
We’re surprised to see fried patties beat out flame broiled Whoppers and quality Latin fare, but there you have it. Hernandez Gonzalez was given a beefy $30 per card for skimming at the drive-through lane at a Miami McDonalds last month. He was caught after a customer noticed his visit to the golden arches was immediately followed by a fraudulent charge on his card, prompting the manager to go through the restaurant’s surveillance tapes. Gonzalez told the feds he was being paid by someone named “Arturo,” but we want to know if the Hamburglar has an alibi.”
Skimming is actually easier done than said; getting more money for magstripe information than the financial damage to victims is indeed easier said than done. Now you know where not to loose sight of your credit card. Take care.
