Turkish Nationals ransack dozens of bank accounts in Bali

Pewarta : Reported by I Made Surya

Turkish Nationals ransack dozens of bank accounts in Bali

Police detained three Turkish nationals who became suspects of ATM burglary case when the case in the Bali Provincial Police. (Antaranews Bali/Gede Wira Suryantala)

Denpasar (Antaranews Bali) - Three Turkish nationals who were identified as Dogan Kimis (43), Mehmet Ali Mentes (31), and Tayfun Koc (36) have been detained by the Bali Provincial Police for  ransacking 12 bank accounts at the island resort.

"These Turkish people have admitted their crimes, and the police now has secured some Rp17.85 million," the General Crime Director of Bali Police, the Sen. Comm. Pol. Sang Made Mahendra Jaya said in Denpasar on Monday.

The three suspects, are part of the international skimming syndicate that has targeted Bali to ransacking the bank accounts of tourists.

"We are still investigating the number of loss, and the victims, because during the raid, the police officers found 83 cards resembling the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards," Jaya noted.

The investigators have been suspicious, these cards have been used as instruments for skimming information of the bank accounts.

During the raid, the officers also secure four routers from the three Turkish nationals.

On the initial probe, the suspects have admitted that they were purchasing the routers and other scamming tools from China.

"As part of an international syndicate, once these suspects retrieved the bank account information, it will be shared to other scammers in Turkey, and other countries," he stressed.

These information would be disrupted first before being ransacked, the police official emphasized.

Following the incident, the police has called on all people, mainly tourists to remain vigilant whenever using the ATM.

"I ask the people to look for any suspicious tools around the ATM before taking cash," Jaya remarked.

Before operating their crimes in Bali, Indonesia, the three Turkish nationals reportedly had regularly visited Malaysia and Thailand.

Jaya stated that the Bali Police had followed the suspects since March 7-9, after receiving reports from the banks.

At 00.15 am local time, March 9, the police detained two suspects when they were skimming one of the ATM in Canggu, Badung District.

The third suspect was secured at a hotel room in Kuta.

"Yes, they have skimmed some ATM cards, and stolen the money," Jaya reiterated.  
  
Skimming is one of the method for stealing the bank account data by using the magnetic stripe on the back of the ATM card. The criminals, or the skimmers will use a special device that will look like a deck of the card. Once the victims input their ATM cards to the skimmed machine, these perpetrators will directly stole the information on the bank account, such as passwords, as well as the money. (WDY)
Editor: Edy M Yakub
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