Credit Card Fraud

A 28-year-old Bulgarian man, nicknamed the Hacker, was jailed for 4 1/2 years for draining more than $1 million from bank cards, mostly owned by U.S. citizens. Issa Mehmed also was ordered to pay back the stolen funds and pay a fine. Mehmed pleaded guilty in the city of Varna to charges of founding an organized crime group for money laundering, financial fraud and extortion. The District Court said the crimes were committed from June 2003 until January 2008, when he and his gang were arrested.

With people increasingly banking and shopping online, many are convinced it's just a matter of time before their personal data is stolen, a new survey says. According to mobile security firm Entersekt, 41% of consumers surveyed worry that their online accounts will be breached in the future, while 53% have already fallen victim or know someone who has been targeted for credit card fraud. "Consumers suspect they are playing with fire conducting financial transactions online...comparable to playing Russian roulette," the company said in a statement.

Last November, a man dining alone in a West Hollywood restaurant paid with a credit card that a restaurant employee found suspicious. When the patron's second piece of identification also didn't look legitimate, the sheriff was called and the man was arrested. That arrest and others like it recently are cited by credit card companies as evidence that extensive anti-counterfeiting efforts they have made in the past two years are paying off.

Here is a roundup of alleged cons, frauds and schemes to watch out for: Stolen credit cards — A Costa Mesa man has been convicted of identity theft and other federal crimes related to the theft of credit cards from Vietnamese immigrants living in Southern California. A federal jury in Los Angeles convicted Hung Van Tieu, 62, of conspiracy, credit card fraud and identity theft. The charges carry a sentence of two to 32 years in federal prison. Tieu was part of a team of con men who called credit card companies in 2010-11, impersonated customers and asked for new cards to be mailed to addresses on file.

How does a thief know if he's got a credit card that works? He asks a merchant. And more than ever, thieves are going online to do it, causing headaches for Internet retailers and costing them money. Newport Beach-based @Brain.com sells its software, which measures and is claimed to enhance one's intelligence, online, with customers inputting their credit-card numbers to purchase it. Once the credit card has been approved, @Brain.

Standing at his cluttered desk, Mike Squires fanned through the fat stack of counterfeit credit cards like a dealer in Las Vegas. Suddenly, he dealt one out--a gold MasterCard ostensibly issued by the Bank of Scotland. "Now that's very good," Squires, chief investigator for Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption, said respectfully. "An obscure bank. Good printing. And when the MasterCard people saw that hologram, they went white."

University of Miami running back Martin Patton and a teammate pleaded not guilty to charges in a credit-card fraud case. Patton, the Hurricanes' third-leading rusher, was suspended indefinitely and will miss the Orange Bowl game against Nebraska on New Year's night. Patton and redshirt Solomon Moore allegedly ran up more than $3,000 on a credit card that was mistakenly delivered to Patton.

Before we get started on this, check your wallet, purse, tote bag, wherever you keep that buyer's passport to the world--your credit card--just to make sure it isn't out burning up all creation while you aren't. Not long ago, mine was when I wasn't. You do not want this experience. You do not want your Visa bill arriving bloated with extra charges from discount stores and mail-order outfits and eateries and bait-and-tackle shops you never knew existed.

For as long as there have been credit cards, there has been credit card fraud. But improved technology has made fraud easier to get away with in recent years, authorities said Tuesday. Los Angeles Police Officer Phillip Clemons Davis, who was arrested last week in Burbank and charged with being part of a credit card fraud ring, operated a scheme known as "mag stripe fraud," Burbank Police Detective John Dilibert said.

An Irvine lawyer convicted last year of conspiracy and securities fraud in a scheme that bilked investors out of tens of millions of dollars pleaded not guilty Monday to new charges of credit card fraud and forgery. Jeanne M. Rowzee is accused of fraudulently applying for credit cards in her children's names and adding herself to the accounts as a second cardholder.

Detectives have identified at least 282 victims of credit card fraud at a Sierra Madre gas station and are working to find the business' owner and a man photographed allegedly using a cloned card at a Montebello bank. With losses now topping $82,000 and the investigation extending to a second gas station in the city, Sierra Madre Mayor Joe Mosca said the U.S. Secret Service, which specializes in card fraud scams, is joining the probe. "The nature of this crime and the number of people it has affected is highly unusual in Sierra Madre," Mosca said.

1. South Africa Is it crazy to go on a soccer vacation to a country with one of the highest rates of violent crime on Earth? There's also a risk of smaller crimes, such as the theft of wallets and cellphones, as well as credit card fraud. South African authorities have promised a safe World Cup, with 41,000 police to be deployed during the tournament. Travelers also can take simple steps to reduce the risk of crime: • Always lock car doors, and keep windows closed.

A 28-year-old Bulgarian man, nicknamed the Hacker, was jailed for 4 1/2 years for draining more than $1 million from bank cards, mostly owned by U.S. citizens. Issa Mehmed also was ordered to pay back the stolen funds and pay a fine. Mehmed pleaded guilty in the city of Varna to charges of founding an organized crime group for money laundering, financial fraud and extortion. The District Court said the crimes were committed from June 2003 until January 2008, when he and his gang were arrested.

An Irvine lawyer convicted last year of conspiracy and securities fraud in a scheme that bilked investors out of tens of millions of dollars pleaded not guilty Monday to new charges of credit card fraud and forgery. Jeanne M. Rowzee is accused of fraudulently applying for credit cards in her children's names and adding herself to the accounts as a second cardholder.

Here's an economic indicator we could all live without: Incidents of identity theft and credit card fraud are apparently on the rise as bad economic times bring out the worst in some people. And you can add me to the list of folk who've been victimized. All my cash and credit cards and my driver's license were stolen last week. Within an hour of the theft, bogus purchases were being made or attempted at Best Buy, Target and Toys R Us locations throughout the area.

State and federal authorities said they arrested nearly two dozen people, many with ties to Eastern Europe, in a credit card fraud and identity theft scheme that cost Las Vegas businesses and consumers about $1.5 million. Greg Brower, U.S. attorney for Nevada, said 13 people were arrested on federal charges Monday in southern Nevada and Los Angeles. Las Vegas police said 10 were arrested on state charges, including forgery, credit card fraud and weapons and drug possession.

Recently a young man phoned my wife attempting to get her credit card number, using what may be a new method. He claimed to be with a consulting firm that was arranging to have our name removed from telemarketing phone and mail lists. When we agreed we wanted that, he asked her for the expiration date on her VISA credit card, and then asked for the card number so he could confirm it. A stupid ploy. Obviously, no one phones to, or mails to, a credit card number! If this is a new method of card theft, perhaps you can publicize it. Or even if it's not new--it was new to us. WAYNE C. IRWIN Northridge

In regards to the quote by Don Rhodes that banks eat the costs of credit card fraud ["Barred From the Card-Code Club," Travel Insider, Aug. 17]: In almost all cases, the costs of fraud are passed on to the merchant that processed the charge. David Jemison Westlake Village -- That was a great article except for the last line. Rhodes was wrong in saying about credit card fraud that "the banks eat that cost." Banks do not eat those losses. The merchants that accept credit card charges are the ones who eat credit card fraud losses.

About 1,500 people who bought tickets from Alaska or Horizon airlines have been notified their credit cards were misused. Alaska Air says a call center employee diverted some payments to a personal account.