Petrol reward cards, loyalty cards and even hotel key cards can be forged and turned into fake credit cards to buy petrol in Malaysia.
In uncovering the scam, officer in charge of police district (OCPD) Assistant Commissioner Abdul Gaffar Muhamad said any card with a magnetic strip could be turned into a credit card.
He said unscrupulous people needed only a skimmer (a portable credit card reader) and a valid credit card number, which could be easily found on discarded receipts, to make forged cards.
"Consumers are urged to be wary when throwing away their credit card receipts after pumping petrol...Please tear the receipts into pieces before disposing them," he said yesterday, adding that petrol station operators should monitor customers for any unusual transaction.
Gaffar said police arrested four suspects aged between 24 and 42 for using fake credit cards to buy 400 litres of diesel and petrol worth 720 ringgit (US$225) at separate stations in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
He said in the first incident at 3:30 a.m., police arrested two suspects, from Kedah and Perlis, after being notified by the station operator who suspected something was amiss.
"The suspects were trying to fill up a lorry, which had seven 1,000-litre storage containers, with diesel," he said.
Abdul Gaffar said the other suspects, both from Penang, were arrested at a nearby station several minutes later.
"We found 193 forged credit cards inside their car along with several mobile phones and a skimmer," said Gaffar.
He said all the suspects were believed to be part of a syndicate.
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