London, June 23 (IANS) A computer wizard branded ‘the most prolific chip and pin fraudster’ in Britain has been jailed for four years.
Theogones De Montford, 29, stole the details of at least 35,000 motorists in a 725,000-pound scam targeting petrol stations.
He designed tiny circuit boards which he fitted inside chip and pin machines at checkouts at Shell and Texaco garages.
The bugs broadcast the PIN code and card details up to 32 km away via bluetooth for De Montford to pick up using a laptop computer. The software engineering student then sold them to credit card fraudsters in Britain and across the globe. The devices made by De Montford, of Hayes, West London, were undetectable to the untrained eye once fitted.
De Montford was arrested after being caught on CCTV interfering with chip-and-pin machines. He admitted conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to possess articles for use in fraud from late 2008 to last September.
A London court heard that credit card cloning in Britain has undergone a ‘noticeable’ drop since he was caught.
The minimum loss caused by De Montford that the prosecutors were able to prove in a London court was 725,000 pounds. The court heard the figure was probably much higher as he was found with details of 35,000 stolen credit cards.
Judge Nicholas Rhodes was quoted on financial website ThisIsMoney as saying: ‘I’ve seen elsewhere that the minimum take per card is usually 1,000 pounds. On that basis, this fraud could cost the banks 35 million pounds.’
(Venkata Vemuri can be contacted at venkata.v@ians.in)
