Over 1,100 credit card frauds detected in Panama

Panama, May 30 (IANS) Over 1,100 cases of credit card fraud have been detected in Panama in the last five years, officials said Sunday.

During the period 2005-2009, at least 1,136 cases were reported, Prensa Latina reported, citing a statement from the Directorate of Judicial Investigation (DIJ).

In 2009, there were officially 203 fraud cases and in the period January to April 2010, 75 complaints of credit card violation have been registered.

The most popular method of fraud was the so-called ‘cloning’ method, where criminals duplicate information from the magnetic stripe of the card, DIJ chief Javier Carrillo was quoted as saying.

Fraudsters also cleverly placed fake card readers in cash dispensers and got access to users’ passwords, he said.

People from Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela have been found to be involved in such criminal activity, police said.