Plaiyski Ventseslav and Ralev
Borislav have been arrested and charged with stealing and copying electronic
card numbers and counterfeiting.
Boonlua Chatree
Two Bulgarians have been arrested for allegedly using
skimmers and cameras to steal ATM card numbers and passwords across Pattaya.
Plaiyski Ventseslav, 40, and Ralev Borislav, 42, were
taken into custody in a wooded area east of Soi Buakaow Jan. 19. Police had
chased the duo into the jungle after Krungthai Bank employees called police
alleging the two were installing electronic card skimmers and wireless
cameras at its ATM booth.
The gear had been removed from Krungthai by the time the
cops showed up and the Bulgarians were suspected of dumping the equipment in
the woods. Police recovered only the plastic skimmer tray, but not the hard
drive on which card numbers were recorded.
A subsequent search of the pair’s Soi Buakaow guesthouse
rooms, however, uncovered a stockpile of electronic card information and the
two were arrested by Transnational Crime Coordination Center investigators
on charges of stealing and copying electronic card numbers and
counterfeiting.
Investigators alleged that that Bulgarians had been rigging number
skimmers and tiny cameras to record passwords at various ATMs in Pattaya and
warned ATM users to always cover the keypad with their hand while entering
passwords.
