Credit card scammer nabbed, more arrests likely

Indah Setiawati ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 09/16/2008 10:24 AM  |  Headlines

The Jakarta Police cybercrime unit is continuing investigations into credit card fraud, having already arrested one suspect for allegedly using stolen credit card numbers to buy goods from foreign companies.

"We are still looking for possible accomplices," head of the cybercrime unit Adj. Sr. Comr. Winston Tommy Watuliu said Sunday.

"The suspect had allegedly been engaged in these illegal activities since 2005. The loss is so far estimated to be around US$200,000, but we're still searching for other victims."

He said police arrested Afunk, also known variously as Brandon Lee, Chris Cornel, Danny and Randi, at an apartment building parking lot in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, last month.

The cybercrime unit worked with the Indonesian National Central Bureau, Singapore Police and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to uncover the suspect's identity.

Winston said the police investigation, which started three months ago, had been complicated because Afunk often changed his identity and meeting points.

"He is very cunning. We did not know what he looked like at all and didn't want to miss him when he agreed to meet an undercover police officer," he said.

He said Afunk had cracked the codes of credit cards issued by two U.S. banks, Citibank and Chase.

Other victims of the alleged fraud were foreign companies who sold goods to Afunk. The companies are Priam Technologies (Canada), Wagner Alternators and Supplies (USA), Summit Pump (USA), Ocean International Suppliers (USA), Diano Motorcycle Company (USA) and Matthiesen Equipment Co.(USA).

Winston said Afunk, who dropped out of Muhammadiyah University in Palembang, operated by using chat rooms to get combinations of credit card numbers.

"(For example), through the chat room, he asked someone called Vider to give him data on a platinum credit card. Later, he changed the last four numbers of the credit card randomly and tried to use it to shop at online stores to check whether it was a real account," he said.

After getting a real credit card combination number, the detainee, who used several fake identities, allegedly placed orders with foreign companies.

"He somehow managed to deceive the victims. They realized the fraud after the two banks that issued the victims' credit cards conducted the internal auditors and informed them about the fraud," Winston said.

Winston did not mention what kinds of good Afunk had purchased or how he cashed in the purchases.

Police have charged Afunk under Article 378 of the Criminal Code for fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison.

"He has signed the dossier and we hope cooperation with the international law enforcement agencies can help us charge him so he faces the maximum penalty," Winston said.

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