A joint New Zealand Police and Customs Service investigation into a recent spate of EFTPOS pin-pad thefts resulted in three Canadians being arrested by the Auckland City Police Financial Crime Unit on Wednesday, July 14.
The three Canadian citizens appeared in the Auckland District Court yesterday where they were charged with Participating in an Organised Criminal Group.
Police have opposed bail and the matter was adjourned for a week. The men will reappear in the Auckland District Court on July 22 for a bail hearing and were remanded in custody until that date.
Pin-pads stolen in the Auckland region between June 24 and July 11 have been recovered by Police. One of the main providers of EFTPOS pin-pads notified Police that 11 of their units had been stolen thus initiating the investigation.
Recent Australian media reports have included New Zealand when naming Australia as a "soft target" for EFTPOS compromise. However Auckland Police Financial Crime Unit officers say this is not the case.
The co-operation between the Customs Service and Police has led to the swift arrests in this matter. Previously numerous arrests made by New Zealand Police in relation to ATM skimming over the past few years have successfully thwarted attempts to commit offences of that nature in New Zealand.
New Zealand law enforcement will continue to target ATM and EFTPOS fraud offenders and inquiries into these latest offences are continuing with the assistance of Interpol and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
While The Age newspaper is Melbourne is reporting that Victorian Police are advising people to use cash or to sign for transactions instead of using their PIN numbers when using EFTPOS machines, New Zealand EFTPOS providers have advised Police here that the technology employed in their pin-pads is superior to that used overseas.
ENDS
Issued by Noreen Hegarty
Auckland City Police Communications Manager
Ph 09 302 6947 or 0274-951-589
Website: www.police.govt.nz