Fraudster May Have Victims In The Thousands
Posted on August 22, 2007
Filed Under Fraud | 2 Comments
What this guy’s doing is definitely against the law. But he is good at it. He’s taking real credit card information, applying to a magnetic strip and making brand new cards in the process.
Here in Tucson, he’s gotten away with at least 12 thousand dollars in fraudulent purchases. But when all is said and done – we could be looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars more, if not millions.
“These credit card numbers are coming from all over the world. I have cards from Madrid, Spain, Canada, Alabama, Minnesota.”
Tucson Police Detective Doug Musick on the growing list of locations where this man’s reportedly harvested credit card information. He does so by way of the internet, Det. Musick says. Then takes that information and literally encodes it into the back of Visa gift cards.
“What these people are doing is re-encoding the card so it has the stolen credit card number on this magnetic strip,” Det. Musick says. “As far as the computer is concerned, the credit card number on the magnetic strip is the actual credit card number–the number of the front means nothing.”
The credit card numbers are being stolen by a computer hacker in Hermosillo, Mexico, authorities say, with several people involved. But 25 year old Marco Geovani Otero is the man behind the operation. He has personal ties to Tucson and has been caught multiple times on surveillance tape buying high ticket items with fraudulent cards.
In one picture we see him with his girlfriend. In another, he’s with his brother and an unknown man. Each time, they’re racking up thousands of dollars in debt in somebody else’s name.
Says Det. Musick, “typically we’re talking about Sony Playstations, Microsoft X-Boxes, Apple Ipods, things like that were purchased. They were either sold on Ebay or they were taken back down to Hermosillo, Mexico and sold at above retail price.”
Otero also has ties to Oro Valley, Phoenix and Las Vegas. Right now, police suspect he’s back in Mexico. But with his long-time love interest here, he can’t help but come back to Tucson.
If you have any information, please call 911 or 88 Crime, the Pima County Attorney’s anonymous tip line. A reward up to one thousand dollars will go to the person whose tip leads to an arrest. You can remain anonymous. It isn’t who you are, it’s what you know that could help solve this case.
With history of 0 credit cards, one might find visa card alluring. The mere fact that one can pay tax by credit card is too interesting to forget easily. However, the bank of america card offers all this and more. This is why credit card consolidation is a thing of a bygone era.
Comments
2 Responses to “Fraudster May Have Victims In The Thousands”
Det Musick I read your blog and i’m curious about the ID of this guy could you please send me a picture of Geovanni Otero to ID this guy ´cause i knew a guy with the same name here in mexico and I made an investment in a farm with the suspect…
have a good day
This isn’t Det. Musick’s blog but a credit card news blog. If you think you have information regarding this case, please call 911 or 88 Crime, the Pima County Attorney’s anonymous tip line, or visit: http://www.pcao.pima.gov/88crime.htm