October 13, 2009
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News: Australia's McDonalds Target of CC Scam
Australia's Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale (EFTPOS) has become the target of several businesses in the Perth area including McDonald's. The U.S. version of the debit card, Australians has increased the use of EFTPOS to curb credit card spending. Citizens have been warned by authorities to keep a close check on their bank account and credit card statements. West Australian (WA) McDonald's customers are the latest target of the thieves who have racked up over $450,000 in fraudulent debit and credit card transactions. Complaints continue to pour in daily, but authorities estimate over 1400 accounts have already been compromised. It appears the criminals have somehow accessed the debit and card numbers at the McDonald's point of sale. Fraudulent activities have been occurring at various ATM locations throughout Malaysia and Canada.
Police authorities from the Major Fraud Squad are asking all citizens who have used their debit or credit card to make purchases at any McDonald's to check their accounts regularly. Due to the ongoing investigation, the Squad is not able to release any information regarding how the criminals are able to access the debit or credit card numbers. According to Senior Sergeant Peter Davies, McDonald's is working with the WA police to track the scammers down. McDonald's State Manager Sharon Paz says immediate action has been taken to remove and replace dozens of EFTPOS machines across the metropolitan area in the past few days. For security purposes, the exact locations of these machines cannot be released.
Retailers have also stepped surveillance and reporting any suspicious activities to the authorities as well. Police say that the tampered EFTPOS machines tend to look more suspicious and cheaply made. The Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) is a non-profit national organization that represents Internet debit and credit card users, note that merchants must guard their EFTPOS machines and should consider lowering the withdrawal limits to reduce customer risks.