Ten to 15 seconds.
That’s how long it takes for a fraudster to install an overlay device equipped with a card-skimming feature on to any ATM machine in the GTA.
One second.
That’s how long it takes to slap on a magnetic holder for a pinhole camera that will capture your pin number.
A small but sophisticated crime group accused of defrauding banks across the GTA was hit with police bracelets, preventing millions of dollars worth of potential bank losses, police announced Friday.
But as sophisticated and as dangerous as this group alleged to have been, investigators admitted it is only the tip of the iceberg.
“It’s a worldwide problem,” Durham Regional Police Insp. Brian Osborne said at a police compound in Courtice where hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of loot was put on display. “It’s across the GTA but it’s across the world.”
Given the ease of installing covert ATM tampering devices and the weak sentences handed down in court, ATM frauds are seen as a big-money, low-risk attraction for crime groups, Det.-Const. Greg Beamer said.
“We do this on a daily basis, running four to five different cases ... everyday, trying to find these people and take down these labs,” Beamer said. “Every time the bank tries to do something to slow it down, they just turn around and find a different way to defeat it.”
The 10-month joint-forces Durham and Ontario Provincial Police investigation culminated in raids in Vaughan, Barrie and Newmarket on March 18. One target was an industrial unit near Martin Grove Rd. and Hwy. 7 where police allege they found a lab for making fraudulent debit cards.
More than 110 ATM overlay devices were seized, each capable of $80,000 to $100,000 worth of losses to any bank, Osborne said, adding: “We’re talking several million dollars.”
Officers are still working through how much money was allegedly stolen. Osborne noted that while police are sure the crime group was operating since last summer, “I don’t think it’s a hobby they just took up.”
Hundreds of fake debit cards and thousands of pieces of data were also seized, as were a 2010 Porsche Cayenne, 2010 Dodge Magnum, 2001 Volkswagen Jetta and about $100,000 worth of other items, including X-Box 360s, Playstation 3s, laptops, power tools and booze.
Investigators allege the loot, financed by fraud, would have been turned for profits if not for the raids.
“They are very organized and they are good at what they do,” OPP Insp. Don Perron said of the six people facing a combined 80 charges. “But we are better at what we do.”
Facing mostly fraud-related charges are: Sebastin Bihari, 35, of Newmarket; Lemak Bary, 23, of Newmarket; Geza De Breceni, 50, of Toronto; Nyla Pejhan, 23, of Zephyr; Gabor Lakatos, 25, of Richmond Hill; and Jozsef Lakatos, 46, of Bradford, police said.
