Debit Card Frauds

Crime Stoppers and the Ottawa Police Service are seeking your assistance in identifying the suspects involved in a series of ATM frauds in the Ottawa and Montreal areas.
In the spring of 2006, a device that processes debit card pin numbers, was stolen from an Ottawa fast food restaurant and replaced with a tampered one, which had been modified to record the debit card confidential information. At least 200 clients had their debit card data and their PIN information recorded in the modified pin device. A restaurant employee is suspected as having collaborated with the culprits. The modified pin pad was subsequently recovered by the culprits and used to forge nearly 200 debit cards.
The cards were then given to “runners” who, in turn, made numerous fraudulent purchases and withdrawals in a short period of time before the banks froze the accounts in June 2006.
The result of this incident resulted in the loss of in excess of 50 thousand dollars to several Canadian banks.
The police investigation is trying to identify 5 of the “runners” involved in the Ottawa frauds:
1- Suspect # 1, 40-50 year old white male, 5’10” to 6’, salt and pepper hair, full beard
2- Suspect #2, female possibly of Asian descent, 5’4”, slim, bleached blond hair
3- Suspect #3, 20 to 30 year old white male, 6 feet, lean build, dimple on right side of face
4- Suspect #4, white male, lean muscular build, 5’10” to 6’, short hair, thin sideburns, wearing a distinctive necklace with a hanging cross
5- Suspect #5, tall slim male, possibly 6’3”, possibly of Somalian or middle-eastern descent.
If you have any information regarding this incident, or any other criminal activity, please call Crime Stoppers at 613-233-TIPS or toll free at 1-800-222-8477. Crime Stoppers does not subscribe to call display, we will not record your call and you are not required to testify in court. If your information leads to an arrest or a charge, you could qualify for a cash reward of up to $1000.
The month of March is fraud prevention month. We want you to RECOGNIZE IT, REPORT IT AND STOP IT.