Three Malaysians Arrested for Debit Card Fraud

The Criminal Police Department (CPD) has arrested three Malaysian citizens on charges of debit card fraud. The suspects were allegedly planning to purchase goods from high end retail stores in Central Tower using fake debit cards.

The Trade and Development Bank of Mongolia was alerted when a point of sale (POS) terminal in Central Tower determined that the debit cards the Malaysians were using were fraudulent. The bank sent security camera photos of the suspects to the CPD, which began an investigation immediately.
The suspects had purchased numerous goods from several department stores in Ulaanbaatar before being caught, and had also purchased airline tickets to Malaysia, from Airmarket.

The suspects entered Mongolia on tourist visas and stayed at the Ulaanbaatar Hotel and the Puma Hotel for two days. These hotels are frequently occupied by foreigners and accept debit cards as payment.

Information about foreigners crossing the border of Mongolia is stored by the General Authority for Border Protection of Mongolia and the Mongolian Immigration Office (MIO). The CPD reviewed the names of foreigners who had recently bought airline tickets, and arrested the three Malaysians at Chinggis Khaan International Airport on January 25th as they attempted to flee the country.

The police discovered that the suspects had over 100 fake international MasterCard and Visa debit cards, and police investigations have determined that the offenders made purchases to the value of at least 15 million MNT.

The offenders are being investigated on the basis of Article 148 of the Criminal Code and are being held in Prison 461.

Debit card fraud scams are widely considered to be one of the most difficult crimes to solve and such offenders are among the most difficult to track down. This is the fourth known debit card fraud case in Mongolia.

Short URL: http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/?p=2689