Chinese ATM Skimmers Held in Riyadh
AP photo.
RIYADH: Two Chinese nationals have been arrested for stealing SR220,000 from 62 people using sophisticated card readers and cameras installed at ATM machines in the city.
The two men, who were in the Kingdom on business visas, had installed the devices at ATMs in shopping malls, mostly in the north of Riyadh, a local publication reported recently. They are part of a larger gang operating overseas, the report said, quoting sources.
The police had launched an investigation after several people claimed that money had been withdrawn from their accounts outside the Kingdom, in China and other Asian countries.
During the investigation, police officers spotted two persons repeatedly using an ATM machine in the city. They were arrested as they tried to withdraw money. The card readers and cameras were found in their possession. The two confessed that they had withdrawn the money overseas.
They had used a magnetic card reader which they attached over the ATM card insert slot.
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This information was then transferred to their accomplices abroad, who copied the information on new cards and then withdrew the money. The duo had carried out 191 transactions, the report said.