MIRA received a bulletin from the Michigan State Police through the Michigan Consumer Protection Division of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development regarding the “tinfoil on the satellite receiver scheme” along with a “Situational Awareness Bulletin”.
These fraud schemes have been migrating from the Southern states toward the North. Therefore MIRA members in both Michigan and Ohio should be on the look out!
Covering satellite receivers with tinfoil to disrupt communications and subsequently using phony credit cards during the outage to defraud the retailer has been going on for years. But, based on this bulletin, the operation is now likely operating in Ohio and Michigan. Click here to view the bulletin in its entirety.
The Situational Awareness Bulletin discusses a traveling fraud ring that starts out by breaking into cars and stealing personal ID information and credit/ debit cards. They then proceed to use the cards to purchase item they subsequently “fence” to pawn shops or overseas buyers. Again, refer to the complete bulletin here.
These low-life’s tend to operate around the holidays when retailers are busy, and credit card communications naturally fall behind because of the volume, so the retailer might be less inclined to think there is a problem out of the ordinary.
Please take 10 minutes to read these bulletins and inform your employees to be aware of these situations.
If you have any further questions, please call Ed Weglarz @ MIRA 800.666.6233.
