In the United States last week, Khawaja Ibrahim became the ninth person to plead guilty in Federal Court in Trenton (New Jersey) in a history of credit card fraud.
The total amount of flights (he and the other people pleading guilty) is $ 200 million!
The case has been much talk in the United States since this collective flight had a pretty simple 3 step strategy (what could surprise). So simple that one wonders yet why some face severe penalties from pointing a bank at the tip of a gun while this method exposes us to less severe penalties in addition to increasing the amount of our loot.
The strategy of the thieves in 3 steps
1- Create a false identity. Here is perhaps the most difficult step. It is undoubtedly necessary to have contacts with organized crime. But with good contacts, it is possible to obtain a false name, a false driver's license, a fake passport, etc. In short, all the necessary paperwork to open a bank account and get a credit card.
The credit card companies can charge 2 identification then it is preferable to have at least 2. These pieces of identification will therefore allow us to obtain several credit cards.
2- Give a good reputation to our false identity
Then, thieves began to raise the credit rating of their false identity by making small purchases and always paying on time. The income of an individual can affect his credit limit, but always pay on time also could raise the limit that can be obtained on his credit card. Often credit card companies offer low limits to new customers (some limits < $1000).
Once credit rating has risen and it is possible to get a higher limit, it's time to take the step #3.
3- To create a false company name
The purpose is very simple; collect all the possible money from our false identity under our real name. In other words, the accused is created a fictitious company that accepts the credit cards (with an online storefront). Then the false identity purchased for $ 10,000 online (or any other amount, up to the limit) the false company created.
The $ 10,000 (to pick a number at random) was then filed in any 'legitimacy' in the bank account of the fraudster. After the default of payment on the credit card, the Bank therefore continue a false identity, a straw man.
It is in this way that several individuals have managed to steal more than 200 M$ to banking institutions in having created thousands of false identities.
The persons in question came to be arrested and charged, probably because they have exaggerated the stolen money, but if they were content to be less, perhaps only them could never arrested.
Discuss this news on PokerCollectif forums: a group flying $200M to banks without too much difficulty
