Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan's (
Police officers from the Criminal Investigation Bureau yesterday arrested a man in Taichung as he attempted to use a fake credit card to buy goods at the city's Shin-Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store. They then arrested six other suspects at two locations in Taichung County and Taipei County. They also found 2,200 fake credit cards in the names of 55 different domestic and foreign banks as well as machines for making fake credit cards.
Police said that Liu Fang-yi (劉芳義), the first man arrested and alleged leader of the gang, purchased the stolen credit card information of innocent credit card holders and placed it on fake cards at the gang's factory in a residential apartment block in Taichung County. The other six suspects then allegedly used the fake cards to buy goods and withdraw cash from ATM machines.
The credit card information is believed to have been stolen electronically in Malaysia.
The police said that the thieves usually "hire" personnel in department stores, gas stations and other outlets to transfer the invisible, electronic credit codes contained in credit cards when they legitimately "skim" the codes during credit card transactions. The theft involves the computerized transfer of the codes from the electronic "skimmer" to the counterfeiters.
"We have been watching these guys for two years," said a police officer who wished to remain anonymous.
"These people hooked up with international credit card thieves in Malaysia from whom they purchased information `skimmed' from innocent credit card holders."
Among the fake cards discovered by the police was a card in Chen's name. Other victims included DPP lawmaker Chu Hsin-yu (朱星羽), former Taipei County Commissioner You Ching (尤清) and UFO Radio Station President Jaw Shaw-kung (趙少康).
This is the second time the minister has been the victim of a credit card theft. He was told by his bank last year that his code had been stolen while he was on a trip to the UK.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
SECURITY: The New Zealand and Australian navies also sailed military vessels through the Strait yesterday to assert the right of freedom of navigation The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force on Wednesday made its first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait in response to the intrusion by a Chinese reconnaissance aircraft into Japan’s sovereign airspace last month, Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday. The Japanese news platform reported that the destroyer JS Sazanamisailed down through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, citing sources in the Japanese government with knowledge of the matter. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi declined to comment on the reports at a regular briefing because they concern military operations. Military vessels from New Zealand and Australia also sailed through the Strait on the same day, Wellington’s defense ministry
RSS