Chapter 14- Delta cops shut down high-tech card cloners
Summary:
Robert Boucher and Lelitia Cominetti, both of Delta, were identified as suspects who fraudulently created and cloned credit cards. Const. Sharlene Brooks of the Delta Police who caught them found a loaded handgun and a crossbow along with the high-tech gadgets used to manufacture the credit cards. The two suspects used the cards in situations where signatures weren’t necessary. One thing they did was buy large amounts of gasoline then sold it and immediately went back for more. Insp. Karre Coupar quoted that the suspects were very intelligent and if that intelligence were to be used on an honest business then they would do really well. The pair faced multiple charges, mainly for fraudulent credit card cloning and the procession of dangerous weapons. As a result they are forced to remain in custody and Cominetti is to appear in court on March 26th, while Boucher on April 1st.
Connection:
This article is connected to chapter 14.2 where they talk about credit cards. The book stated that a bunch of procedures is required in order for a customer to buy on credit. However, in this case the suspects didn’t need to go through all these procedures and no signature was needed. This allowed the suspects to successfully commit fraud. On the other hand, this case did follow the book with the credit card charges. The retail still receives quick payment and a charge from the credit card company just like the book stated.
Reflection:
I believe that this case was a very unfortunate event. As stated by Karre Coupar, the two suspects could have used their knowledge for a greater cause. With their intelligence, they could have earned a lot of money in the business world, but instead they used it for fraud. This kind of fraud ultimately affects retailers and consumers like us. In order to cover the cost of the fraud, credit card companies would have to increase interest rates, which would eventually be covered by retailers paying credit card companies for credit use. With more theft expense, retailers would have to raise prices on products for sale in order to cover their losses. Although in this case, cloned credit cards caused a lot of trouble and scams, I still believe that credit cards are an efficient and useful invention.
http://www.theprovince.com/news/fraservalley/Delta+cops+shut+down+high+tech+card+cloners/2719570/story.html
It is unfortunate that such intelligent people used their knowledge for fraud when they could have used it to easily succeed in the business world or even contribute to it. I agree that credit cards are useful and efficient, however, I also think that too many people are taking advantage of them, like in this article, when the suspects used the cloned cards where signatures were not needed. Credit card frauds are so common in the world today. I normally wouldn’t care, but obviously it has become a real problem if credit card companies have to raise interest rates to compensate for the lost money.
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