€12M Credit Card Fraud Operation Shut Down by U.S.-EU Authorities

A massive credit card fraud operation spanning 15 countries, including Britain, was reportedly shut down through efforts by the Spanish police, Europol, and U.S. Secret Service.

Reportedly, the criminal network had garnered €12 (£10.5/$14.4) million through a trans-Atlantic credit card fraud scheme that utilised a U.S. law that allows transactions to temporarily go through while banks on either side of the Atlantic settled up. The law criminals took advantage of allows U.S. travellers to use their credit cards to make purchases in Europe, despite having no funds available.

The fraudulent transactions were usually set up in hotels, restaurants, and bars reports Reuters. While the transaction would eventually be rejected, the merchants would keep the money, sending most of it, minus a 15% commission, to the crime ring.

While this news story is not about a class action lawsuit, TCA works to keep viewers informed about general consumer protection news.

Hundreds were reportedly arrested in the scheme, including one suspect from the U.K. The operation was based out of a small hotel in western Spain and spanned over a dozen European countries, including Britain, as well as Spain, Greece, Austria, Denmark, Ukraine, and Germany, along with three U.S. States, according to Euro Weekly.

The €12 ($14.4) million credit card fraud operation was the biggest bust ever by authorities, according to Euro Weekly. Reportedly, authorities from numerous countries conducted over 80 house searches, seized over a dozen luxury cars, and froze more than 80 bank accounts as a part of the investigation.

Many of the bank accounts contained more than €1 million.

The main syndicate was reportedly made up of Greek nationals who used shell companies in the United States to set up bank accounts. They would then build trust with financial institutions by shuffling money between accounts in the U.S. and Europe, ultimately obtaining credit and debit cards.

Scammers would then use the cards, charging the available limit and leaving over 50 U.S. financial institutions on the hook for more than €12 million in fraudulent charges. The money would then be laundered through different bank accounts in Europe.

Euro Weekly reports that the investigation into the massive credit card took eight months.

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